A Mirror for the Sun
by Sundarii
Summary: At nineteen, Hyuuga Hinata was an accomplished medical researcher. At twenty, Hyuuga Neji was a successful ANBU assassin. When teamed up, he effectively hardens her. But what happens when she becomes his weakness? [ Neji x Hina ]
1. Chapter 1

A Mirror for the Sun

**Thanks to Celia, a.k.a. the awesome-est beta reader ever! **

Summary: At nineteen, Hyuuga Hinata was an accomplished medical researcher. At twenty, Hyuuga Neji was a successful ANBU assassin. When teamed up, he effectively hardens her. But what happens when she becomes his weakness? Neji x Hina

**edit 29 April 2010:** apparently all my scene breaks are not working, so just a small edit to all the chapters to insert line breaks.

Chapter 1.

* * *

_Here, here now--don't cry_

_Tuck those ribbons under your helmet_

_Be a good soldier_

-Tori Amos, _Mother_

"We're losing him!" Kiba shouted at her.

Hinata gritted her teeth in response, pushing her byakugan—and her body—to the limit as she chased after their target, chakra collecting dangerously in her calloused hands. Beads of perspiration slid down her face, mixing with the night rain and thoroughly soaking her. Ignoring the slight discomfort, she forced chakra to the soles of her feet to steady herself through the slippery forest floor.

"We won't," Hinata promised him. "We won't!"

Shino nodded his assent and quickened his sprint as well.

"This—wouldn't—be—so—fucking—hard—if—I—could—just—"

"Orders are orders," Shino interrupted shortly. The mission had been long and difficult, and Kiba's constant griping had been getting on his nerves.

Hinata forced her legs to go faster. Branches slashed painfully into her face and bare arms.

Suddenly the target disappeared.

"DAMNIT!" She heard Kiba roar, futilely sniffing the air. "I CAN'T FUCKING SMELL HIM—

"Right there!" Hinata pointed, scavenging the area with byakugan, dashing towards a generally unremarkable area. "Three o'clock—fifteen hundred meters—weak Genjutsu—

"Release!" Shino barked, holding two fingers up. His genjutsu dispelled, the target scrambled clumsily to escape.

"Shino!"

"I'm on it," he said as he sent a myriad of bugs towards the target. His kikai buzzed excitedly and swarmed around the target. The captured ninja squirmed, desperately trying to escape. Team 8 walked to their imprisoned target.

"There's no point in resisting." Hinata's quiet voice was nearly drowned out against the pitter-patter of the falling rain.

"What d'you want from me?" the ninja cried, his voice oddly high-pitched. Hinata frowned and exchanged glances with her teammates; something wasn't quite right…

"You know too much," Shino answered finally. It was the least he could do for someone whose life he had significantly shortened.

She deactivated her byakugan, and although she no longer possessed superior sight, she could all too clearly see the fright in the captive's eyes.

"I don't know anything, honest, oh God, please…" he blubbered. Tears leaked down his face.

He was young, she noted as she watched him quiver uncontrollably. He couldn't have been more than 10. Though Hinata was more than familiar with the cold fact that ninja often began practicing at young ages, she couldn't help but think, _I was a genin when he was born._

_He is a target,_ She reminded herself._ Nothing more, nothing less. Do your duty._

Hinata hardened herself. "Ogiwara Takatoshi," she said monotonously. "You are now—

"How do you know my name?" he exclaimed, his fear so strong it was almost tangible.

"Shut up, kid," Kiba said, looking at him wearily.

"Ogiwara Takatoshi," she repeated. "You are now a prisoner—

"_How do you know my name?"_ he shrieked wildly. The kikai bound him tighter, giving the child no space to move. "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?"

"Just knock him out, Hinata," Kiba said uneasily above the repeated screams. "This is kinda cruel."

"We are ninja. It is not in our nature to be kind," came Shino's low voice.

"Still!"

"Whatever the case, we're obligated to recite his rights."

"Or lack thereof! No prisoner has any real rights," scoffed Kiba.

Both her teammates were right, but Hinata's humanity won out as she listened to the sheer panic of a child who just acknowledged the cold reality of his mortality.

"He can have his rights read out to him when he wakes up," she quickly inserted before Kiba and Shino engaged in a political debate on the treatment of prisoners.

They nodded.

Hinata infused chakra into her fingers and headed towards the boy, twigs and leaves crunching underneath the weight of each step. His screams stopped and his eyes widened as he looked at her glowing fingers.

"Wa—wa—wait," he begged hoarsely. Fat tears rolled down his face, mixing with the night rain. "Don't kill me. Please! Don't kill me. Oh, God, please, I'm only twelve, I don't wanna die—

She'd heard enough. White eyes clashed against his wild black before she gently tapped his head and knocked him out.

Hinata pushed her dripping hair out of her face and expressionlessly turned to her companions.

"Mission successful."

* * *

_This is wrong._

Knock, knock.

_Mmn, go away._

Knock, knock.

_I can't hear you._

BAM! BAM!

Hinata groaned, praying that whoever was at the door would go away if ignored. She grabbed the clock at her bedside table and squinted.

9:32

She returned to Konoha not four hours ago after two days of solid travelling. Hinata pulled the covers over her head and attempted to go back to sleep—whoever was at the door _could freaking wait._

After a few more minutes of incessant knocking, Hinata grimly realized her prayers would go unheeded and groggily, she called, "I'm coming!"

She stretched and winced, feeling the effects of the mission in every cell of her body. Trying her best to ignore the unwelcome pain, Hinata threw on a large grey sweatshirt and headed towards the door of her small apartment with killer intent. She was normally a very kind and patient person, but nearly all her friends knew—and when she lived at the Hyuuga mansion even _her father _knew—not to interrupt her sleep after a long, tiring mission, or prepare to face the deadly consequences.

She crossed the area of her living room in three steps and threw open the door. Her glare disappeared as she looked up at her visitor in surprise.

"Hinata-sama."

Hinata fidgeted in her too-short bed shorts and sweatshirt.

"Good morning…Neji-nii-san."

"Hokage-sama requires our immediate presence." He handed her a summon scroll from his specialized ANBU vest. Hinata stared at it blankly. Tsunade-sama knew she had just returned--why the immediate summon?

The bags underneath Hinata's eyes never felt so heavy. "But…why?" she uttered, glancing longingly at the bedroom behind her.

Neji's eyes flickered over to the bedroom. "I imagine Hokage-sama will address that question when we arrive."

Hinata barely held back an annoyed glare at her cousin's evasiveness. Finally she sighed in defeat. "Just give me five minutes."

Exactly five minutes later--time is important for shinobi--Neji and a semi-freshened Hinata left for the Hokage's office.

"Hinata-sama, you have a root stuck in your hair."

Hinata reddened. She hadn't bothered to look in the mirror or to brush her hair, nor had she showered after the mission. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair and found a dirt clumped root. As gracefully as she could, she brushed the rest of her hair, half-expecting to find more plant material. She didn't even want to know what her impeccable cousin thought of her.

Mortified with embarrassment, Hinata whispered, "Thank you."

The rest of the walk there was relatively quiet, as was expected between the two Hyuuga; Hinata was naturally quiet and Neji hated small talk. As the red faded from her face, Hinata glanced at her stoic cousin, who had steadily become more withdrawn since his inauguration into the ANBU. She wanted to ask him so much--Why he thought they had to come together, why he thought Tsunade-sama wanted her right after a mission, why he had become so withdrawn his teammates had even started asking _her _what he was up to…

Hinata gathered her courage and opened her mouth, but one look into his cold eyes stopped her. She looked down and sighed softly. _Coward._

"Is there something you wish to say, Hinata-sama?"

"No, Neji-nii-san," Hinata responded quietly, averting her glance. She was a terrible liar. "Nothing at all."

Neji looked at her and Hinata knew he could see through her lie. She played with her fingers until she could feel the weight of his glance disappear.

Hinata endured the uncomfortable silence by simply thinking of how much she would like to sleep. Two days of solid traveling with minimal breaks and having to carrying Ogiwara--who presented a more emotional burden than physical--wore Hinata out and she would not be surprised if she passed out in the Hokage's office.

She felt a burst of cold wind. Shocked out of her thoughts, Hinata looked around at her surroundings. Were they already at the Hokage's building? She turned to see Neji talking to the blushing receptionist, who, with glazed eyes and a wide smile, indicated to Neji that he should go upstairs to the office, that Tsunade-sama was expecting them. Her cousin turned to her. "Let's go, Hinata-sama."

* * *

The 5th Hokage of Konoha paced angrily in her office, alternating between glaring at Ibiki, who was sitting almost nervously in one chair, and Danzou, who sat peacefully in the other.

"I don't see why this has to be done now," Danzou drawled. "Or even at all. Let the prisoner rot."

Tsunade clenched her teeth tightly. _I want to punch that impertinent bastard in the face. Just one hit will finish him…_

"Because," she ground out, "if Hyuuga Hinata cannot perform her jutsu on the child now he will be irrevocably damaged. It is not in Konoha's practice to murder innocent children."

"He was a potential threat to Konoha. You should not be so sensitive, as Hokage of Konoha."

Livid at the man's daring, Tsunade pounded her fist through the nearest wall. A nearby nurse on the other side of the broken wall sighed imperceptibly at the hole and she went to call the hospital handiman--a job created almost the day Tsunade was inaugurated into office. "Based on who's evidence did you send _three of my best reconnaissance scouts_?" Tsunade hissed.

Danzou tutted at the noise she was creating. _Tch. Women. _"My own, of course, Hokage-sama."

"He was a harmless ninja, a child--

"No ninja is completely harmless!"

Tsunade could not argue with Danzou on that point, but her anger was still too fresh; she could not believe he dared to order Team 8 to unofficially capture a child--who posed no real threat to Konoha--and then ordered Ibiki to torture the child for information he never really had--and then insulted her. She wanted to rip his balls out.

Absolutely furious, she growled, "You have no jurisdiction whatsoever over my ninja, you **never **have, and you **never **will. From now on you will be shadowed, and you will report for an evaluation once a week. You will report every single mission you assign--even the ANBU missions. If you fail to report one mission, you will be removed from office, forcibly if needed. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

Danzou resentfully glared at Tsunade with his good eye. Tsunade glared right back, her anger increasing exponentially just by looking at the man.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" she barked. "This is not over, Danzou."

"Of course, _Tsunade-sama_," he hissed in the most disrespectful tone he could muster. Tsunade gritted her teeth, wishing with all her might that it would be politically okay to punch the ANBU direction through the window of her 10-story office.

The door opened with a creak, and Hyuuga Neji entered, followed by Hyuuga Hinata, who threw an unsurprised glance at the very large hole in the wall adjacent to the door. Hinata had trained with the Hokage on more than several occasions and was very familiar with the Fifth's temper.

Tsunade forced herself to calm down.

"You're finally here," she snapped. "Genma!" she barked.

Without a sound, Genma appeared. "Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Retrieve prisoner number 77589 immediately!"

And, with just as much sound--or lack thereof--Genma disappeared, right into thin air.

All Hinata's annoyance at being summoned vanished as she saw the terrible mood Tsunade was in. Although Hinata had witnessed Tsunade's anger quite often, it extinguished quickly and rarely did Hinata see Tsunade in such an enraged state. The Hokage's face was flushed with anger, her fists clenched tightly, and her breathing slightly labored. As Hinata looked from Danzou's irritated façade to Tsunade's red face, twisted in fury, Hinata's heart sank. No doubt she would be punished for accepting the mission Danzou assigned.

Tsunade turned to Hinata and she readied herself to bear the brunt of the Hokage's anger.

"Oh, get that look off your face, Hinata. I won't punish you for accepting the mission; but from now on you are to refuse any mission that man--" here Tsunade pointed a finely manicured finger at Danzou--"will give you unless I expressly approve it."

Hinata did not dare glance at Danzou. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

At that moment Genma brought over prisoner 77589 and Hinata gasped, recognizing the bloodied and bruised face--although barely. Neji remained stoic, more than familiar with the torture methods his commander employed upon prisoners.

"Ogiwara Takatoshi," she breathed, as the young boy's body quivered, even unconsciously. As her eyes scanned the child's face, beaten so terribly it was almost unrecognizable, Hinata was reminded that she _really _loathed her job sometimes.

"Hinata," Tsunade's rushed voice came, "if you cannot perform your jutsu on him he will never return to his unharmed state. You must do it now."

"This second?" Hinata asked incredulously. "Tsunade-sama, I mean no disrespect, but I have very little chakra left--

"It is vital, Hinata, if you want to save the child."

Neji stood by the door, doubtful and confused. _What can Hinata-sama do that Hokage-sama herself cannot not fix?_

"I see," Hinata sighed. "How much is enough?"

"I would say three years."

_What the hell is going on?_

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Neji watched as Hinata kneeled by the body. She formed the seals to activate byakugan, and his interest peaked more than ever. From the corner of his eye, he could see the commander interestedly lean forward, his eyes glittering. Neji frowned slightly; though he was not particularly close to his cousin, the last thing he could have wanted was for the infamously cruel Danzou to take an interest in her.

Neji's attention turned to Hinata as she gathered chakra in her palms, and he watched as she molded a sizeable chunk of her glowing chakra to gradually become denser and sharper. The chakra split into several slim needles, and, panting, Hinata increased the power of her byakugan. The veins near her eyes elevated more, she focused on the head of the prisoner. She lined up the chakra needles neatly and, to Neji's infinite disbelief, shot them directly into the child's head. Immediately the child stopped quivering, and Hinata fainted, right on top of him.

Neji went to Hinata's side and pulled her limp body off what he assumed was the corpse. "You ordered her to kill him," he said accusingly to the Hokage.

"No, idiot," his commander interrupted. Neji ignored the name-calling--Danzou had a habit of alternating between calling him a girl's name and just calling him any general insult--but instead, Neji found himself deeply disturbed with the excitement in Danzou's voice. "Can you not tell what has just occurred?"

"Neji." The Hokage's firm voice commanded his attention.

Neji's eyes widened uncharacteristically, putting together the pieces. There was no way Hinata-sama could--it was impossible--nearly unheard of…

Tsunade confirmed his theory.

"Hinata has just erased the past three years of this child's memory."

I hope you like it. I've had this little piece in my mind for a while, and I wanted to get it out. So please review and tell me if you like it! : )


	2. Chapter 2

A Mirror for the Sun

Chapter 2.

AN. IMPORTANT. So, it's recently dawned on me that Danzou is head of ROOT, and not ANBU. This is slightly problematic to this story, so I'm going to change it to what I originally thought the power…succession…thing…was. Haha.

SO: in this story, Tsunade is the head honcho, the direct commander of ANBU (just like in the manga), but Danzou is also the head of ANBU, but more of a army general way (idk if this is easier to understand, I don't know if I even understand, but kind of a commander in a secretary of defense kind of way…). Anyway, he's just really important in ANBU, whereas in the manga I think he's just someone powerful who is in charge of ROOT. If you guys were confused, I hope that cleared everything up.

One more quickie: I am not a med student, or in any kind of medicine. I know nada about medicine. Nothing. so if terms are wrong or things in general just don't make sense to all you in the medical profession, just correct me or ignore it and tell yourself that it's fantasy. haha.

As always, a very appreciative thanks to my lovely Beta Celia. :)

* * *

"Hinata has just erased the past three years from this child's memory."

Neji was speechless. He and his cousin hadn't been close since they were toddlers, but he would have thought that he would have been informed of such abilities.

"Genma. Hori," Tsunade called. The two jounin appeared.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." The duo chorused.

"Hori--take the child to an O.R. now. His injuries need immediate operation. When he wakes up he will be a civilian--make sure the nurses know that. Genma, accompany Danzou back to his office. He is to be shadowed every second of the day."

The two nodded. Immediately the woman disappeared with the child, but Danzou stalled. "Take care of yourself, _Hokage-sama_," he bowed, smiling mockingly.

Tsunade bared her teeth at him in a poor imitation of a smile. "You should take infinitely more care of yourself," she shot back.

Danzou ignored the thinly veiled threat and allowed himself to be led out of the messy office. Tsunade turned to Neji.

"Hyuuga Neji, you will accompany me. We need to take Hinata to the ICU."

Neji hesitated. He had a lot work to finish, and more importantly, thoughts that needed sorting out. With one look from Tsunade, however, he dutifully replied, "Yes, Hokage-sama."

After carefully placing Hinata on a stretcher and attaching a chakra IV to her arm, Tsunade spoke once more.

"Before we leave my office, Neji, it should be understood that the events that occurred in my office just now remain secret."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"You have witnessed first-hand what Hinata's…unique…abilities are. Knowing this, you should be aware that she can also reverse those effects."

"She can give memory back?" he asked, barely hiding his incredulity behind a stoic mask. He really knew nothing about his younger cousin.

"Only if she has inflicted the memory loss. Let's go. Don't ask any questions right now, save them for a less pressing time."

Neji frowned; who did she think he was, Uzumaki Naruto? Still, he said nothing. As he pushed Hinata's gurney, he turned to the Hokage.

"Why are you telling me all this?" he asked lowly.

Tsunade's mouth tightened. Though she was the Hokage, Neji could easily decipher her body language; her shifting eyes indicated a severe distrust of her surroundings, while her pursed lips screamed impatience. "You will understand later, when Hinata is conscious. You have seen enough for today. What I will tell you is that you must understand that Danzou was not meant to have seen her abilities," she said in a much quieter voice. "It was a terrible mistake on my part, and something that Hinata may have to pay for. In the meanwhile, stay with her until I can send someone else to watch over her." They turned into the ICU. "Hinata will wake up in two, three days--tops. You will receive a mission then."

Nurses clamored around Hinata and transferred her into a bed. In a flurry of movements, Hinata was changed and given an IV. Neji was distantly impressed with the efficiency of the hospital.

"She cannot be alone in her present state at this moment," came the hurried voice of the Hokage. "I'm sure you understand." Neji nodded. There was an extremely high possibility that Danzou would pay Hinata a personal visit. "Do not leave her bedside until Haruno Sakura shows up. She will relieve you of this duty."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

With a few steps, she was gone.

Neji sighed imperceptibly. Seating himself in a nearby wooden chair, he lightly massaged the bridge of his nose as he watched the nurses work.

A twinge of pity arose as he looked at his frail cousin; shadows from the nurses' blue chakra danced across her pale skin. The dim light made it a little difficult to see her face, but once the photoreceptors in his eyes adjusted, Neji could easily make out the dark circles around her eyes. With some surprise, he noted that her small face was hollow; almost gaunt.

Neji wondered what Hinata could have possibly seen or done that would have changed her face so drastically since the last time he really talked to her—about two years ago.

* * *

_Neji walked into the large menagerie, where the Hyuuga kept all their messenger birds._

"_Hinata-sama. You wanted to see me?" he asked, a hint of disapproval coloring his words. He'd been looking everywhere for her, and using the byakugan in areas other than the Hyuuga training ground was strictly forbidden, making finding her especially irritating._

_Neji would not have been nearly as annoyed if she hadn't __**summoned**__ him—almost as if he were some kind of servant. He was a busy man. However, the logical side of his brain argued that she had the right as heiress to summon him; not only was he her appointed protector, but he was of the branch house. He needed to do anything she asked._

_The seventeen year old heiress turned to her cousin, holding a small scroll in her hand._

"_Neji-onii-san!" she exclaimed, startled. "That was fast," she said, though it was more to herself. She toyed with the frayed edges of the scroll. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to get here so quickly, otherwise I wouldn't have made you wander around looking for me."_

_He nodded curtly._

_She rolled up the tiny scroll. "I-I was just sending a letter," she explained, unnecessarily._

"_I see," he replied, looking at the messenger bird--a hawk._

"_Um. Okay. Well…I asked you to meet me for a reason." She attached the scroll to the hawk's leg._

_Neji waited, his impatience skillfully hidden._

_With a sigh, Hinata started again, not looking at him. _

"_You no longer need to be my protector." She paused a second, and turned to him, clarifying her shocking statement. Her face was determined. "You are hereby released of your duties to me."_

_Neji's eyes widened, and all his irritation disappeared. "Hinata-sama…I—" he stopped. "I refuse."_

_Hinata's eyebrows shot up. She was sure he would happily (or as happily as Neji could manage to__be, anyway) accept and leave. She did not anticipate this. Was that _anger_ on his face? Oh why oh why couldn't she be more tactful--_

"_It is my duty to protect you, Hinata-sama. I took an oath, I promised my father—_

"_Oh. Well, Neji-nii-san," she said meekly, "I haven't needed your protection since I was a child." At his confused look, she explained gently, but with bluntness he should have expected: "The chuunin exams?"_

_The three words hit him with a force not unlike the uppercut he received from Naruto in that same disastrous exam. He thought she'd forgiven him for those beatings, though he'd never asked her explicitly for it. He thought his following actions of encouragement and general geniality were enough for them. _

_Did she want a verbal apology from him? Was that what this is about, he wondered with some amount of astonishment. "I apologize for that—_

"_Oh, no, no, no!" she interrupted hastily. "Neji-nii-san, I forgave you for that. It wasn't my intention to guilt you, not at all!"_

"_I don't understand." His frustration seeped into his words._

"_I'm releasing you from your duties because…it's because I know that the title has been a burden to you." _

"_It has not," he replied immediately, as calmly as he could._

_Hinata shook her head. "It has." Her voice is quiet. "I know you've asked my father about joining ANBU. And I know you have been denied permission exclusively because of your role to protect the heiress."_

_He didn't deny it._

"_I don't want to be the reason you can't achieve your dream. A hindrance."_

_Hinata walked to the large window and let the messenger hawk out. After a few moments of silence, and upon concluding that Neji would not respond, she spoke. _

"_You know," she started, almost conversationally, "that particular bird is called a Cooper's hawk. I read up on them a few years ago." She turned to him. "They usually lead very dangerous lifestyles. And it is particularly vicious when it meets its prey, killing it with many consecutive hits." She gave him a small, genuine smile. "I think it would be appropriate for you." _

_Neji gave a jerky nod. Hinata smoothed the nonexistent wrinkles in her kimono. _

"_I filled out all the papers, so you don't need to worry. Goodbye, Neji-onii-san," she said, leaving the menagerie. "And I wish you the best of luck."_

_Neji was left standing in the middle of menagerie, listening to the chirping and hooting of the caged birds._

* * *

Neji unconsciously felt for his ANBU mask, located in the secret compartment on the inside of his vest. His fingers roamed over the carvings in the mask and traced the rough welts of paint he knew gave the impression of a hawk.

Neji rested his eyes; he, like Hinata, had just come back from a tiring mission a few hours ago.

He sighed.

Somehow…

Even when she cut him free…

Somehow, it always came back to Hinata.

He fell asleep with that thought.

* * *

Neji heard the loud footsteps before they even stepped in the hallway. By the time the doorknob opened, the haziness of his slumber completely faded, replaced by cutting alertness. He rose smoothly.

"Neji-san, how very nice to see you again."

Pink hair. Bright green eyes. One lovelorn Naruto trailing after.

"Haruno Sakura-san," he responded, not impolitely.

"That's me," she responded tiredly, having too much on her plate to bother questioning her acquaintance's oddities.

"NEEEEEEJJJJJIIIIII!" bounced in Naruto loudly. "HOW THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Before Neji could ask him to be quiet so that Hinata could rest, Sakura beat him.

"Naruto," she hissed, "lower your goddamn voice, this is the ICU!"

"Oops," he giggled guiltily. "Sorry."

"Anyway, Neji-san, Naruto is here to take over for a while. You are formally ordered to come back when Hinata-san wakes up. Naruto, can you give him the scroll?"

"Yeah, sure." He handed the official summons scroll to his old friend.

"Naruto will take your place the moment you leave this hospital. Though, admittedly, I doubt he's fit to watch over a plant, let alone an unconscious patient…" she muttered.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, I'll take good care of Hinata," Naruto said, his voice getting serious.

Sakura smiled, her cheeks dimpling. Naruto knocked over an IV. She sighed and pretended to ignore it.

"Well," she said over Naruto's noisy scrambling to fix said IV. "I'll just leave you two alone. I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do."

"No. I must leave." Without another word, Neji left the room.

Naruto stopped messing around. His eyes darkened to a smoky blue.

"Are you happy to have seen Neji-san now, Naruto? Isn't that the reason you volunteered to watch over Hinata-san?"

Naruto looked down. "He's different. Something's weird."

"What do you mean?"

"He's…I don't know exactly…quieter, I guess."

Sakura frowned. "He's never exactly been _you._ I didn't notice anything that different."

"He's quieter," Naruto emphasized. "He would have at least exchanged insults with me."

"Who knows?" she asked, rummaging through Hinata's charts distractedly. "You've been away for a year, and he's constantly on missions. It's inevitable that your friendship becomes more impersonal."

"Maybe," he said unbelievingly. His normally loud voice dwindled down a few notches. Sakura looked up.

"It's not your fault," she said emphatically. "You can't control how everyone's lives turn out."

"He's my friend. I should be able to help him."

"Neji-san is in ANBU now. I heard he's strictly kept in the assassinating department. So it isn't really a surprise that he's a little different now."

"He wouldn't be like this if Hinata didn't—" he started bitterly.

"Stop looking to play the blame game," she said sternly. "She gifted him with the power to choose, and he chose ANBU. He may not be happy right now, but I imagine he's grateful for his choices."

Naruto's downfallen face tugged at Sakura's heartstrings.

"Hey," she said, punching his arm lightly. "Just hang in there for a few hours, and when I get off my shift, I'll treat you to some ramen."

Though the promise of ramen didn't rouse him as much as it would have when he was a genin, Naruto found he couldn't refuse.

* * *

Neji went directly to his apartment after he left the hospital, and, after tossing his weapons and vest onto a chair, headed for the freezer. He pulled out a bottle of vodka and took a swig straight from the enormous container.

It tasted disgusting.

His face contorted in revulsion, but he took another mouthful, and another, and swallowed, the alcohol leaving a burning trail from his throat to the bottom of his stomach. It was enough for now.

After downing a shot, he set down the bottle none-too-gently and sagged into the couch. He switched the television on and closed his eyes, ignoring the shelf of weapons that rested on the wall directly above his source of entertainment.

They were the only decoration in the blank room, which contained precisely 5 other items, each of which served some kind of sensible function: a rug, which would keep his feet somewhat warm; a lamp and a set of curtains, needed for obvious reasons; a television, which Neji kept only to fall asleep to; and a couch, for Neji to sleep on, despite his having a large bedroom (which was used only when he entertained guests of a more pleasurable nature).

Finally, there was the weapons shelf.

It served no practical purpose to Neji, and on more than a few occasions he'd thought of getting rid of the shelf's occupants, and the nightmarish memories accompanying each weapon. Any time he'd even thought to throw out the numerous shuriken and daggers, katana and other weaponry, he'd quickly squelched the thoughts and gotten back to his work.

He would never throw out reminders of his dead companions.

The rusted weapons weighed heavily in his soul, each a morbid reminder of his failures as ANBU captain to his subordinates. There was a distinct story behind each weapon, and Neji could easily recall the gruesome history of each weapon.

The katana on the top of the shelf, for example, had been messily sliced through the heart of Arisawa Hotaru, a newly initiated ANBU who was foolishly excited to be going on her first SS ranked mission. She died roughly one day into the assignment. Neji killed her assailant not long after and kept his weapon as a tribute to honor Hotaru; it was a grim ritual he started honoring when his first subordinate was killed in action.

Flakes of her blood still remained on the katana. The other weapons were similarly unclean, each having been bathed in blood. Time dried up the red fluid and crusted it along each silvery surface.

Neji downed some more vodka and, listening to the sound of television commercials, passed out on the couch.

* * *

Two days passed before Hinata woke up for the first time. She looked around at her surroundings, nestled her head back into the surprisingly soft pillow, and fell back into a deep slumber.

A few hours later, Hinata woke up to rustling. She yawned, attracting the blonde nurse's attention.

"Oh!" The nurse swiftly turned around. "You're awake!"

"Ino-san," croaked Hinata with just as much surprise. She winced, hating that her voice sounded like a chain smoker's, which shouldn't have surprised her; she, after all, hadn't spoken for hours, or even days.

She sat up against the pillow. "What are you doing here?"

"Changing the sheets."

"Why?"

Ino had the grace to blush. "Tsunade-sama is punishing me—she caught me and that hot medic—you know the one who was on your cousin's team a few times? Well, she walked in on us in a pretty compromising position on the hospital beds."

"Goodness."

"Yeah. She said she didn't know which other beds I 'tainted' and then said that if I have time to be having sex during work then I have time to change all the sheets and bedpans."

"Ouch." Hinata couldn't help smiling tiredly at her friend. It was so very _Ino_ of her.

"So why are you in here, Hinata?" Ino asked with wide blue eyes. She settled down comfortably in the wide sofa next to Hinata's bed. "I was going to read your chart but I didn't know if you would be offended in case it was something embarrassing…"

"No, it's fine. Probably over-exhaustion."

Ino grabbed the silver chart located at the foot of the bed and flipped it open. She whistled. "Wow… It says here that you used, like, 96 percent of your chakra! Must have been a crazy mission…"

"Yes," Hinata nodded ruefully, "you could say that."

Ino continued reading. "It says here in big red letters that Tsunade-sama is to be notified the minute you wake up. Hmm, maybe I should go do that. Be right back!"

"Ino-san, wait—" but Ino had already left. Two minutes later she reappeared with Tsunade.

"Hinata, how are you feeling?" the busty woman asked.

"I'm fine, Tsunade-sama. I'm just a little tired."

"That's to be expected," she nodded. She turned to Ino. "Don't you have bedpans that need cleaning?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she muttered, leaving.

The door closed and Tsunade came close. "Hinata, I hate to do this to you so soon, but I absolutely need to assign you a mission as soon as Neji gets here. I can't tell you everything about your mission in front of the usual panel—this mission is too serious and too important, and I know that Danzou has spies in my office." She took in Hinata's exhausted face. "You won't have to leave anytime too soon," she assured her, "but I need to tell you what you'll be up against as soon as possible."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." What else could she say?

Together they waited for Neji.

* * *

"Message for Hyuuga Neji-san!" a messenger called. "It's directly from the Hokage, of the utmost importance!"

Neji took the scroll and scanned it behind his painted ANBU mask, fully aware that Danzou was carefully watching him. It read:

'HYUUGA HINATA IS NOW AWAKE. REPORT TO ICU IMMEDIATELY.'

Neji folded the scroll and tucked it into his vest pocket. He walked to Danzou.

"Hokage-sama wishes to see me."

"Then by all means, see her," Danzou said, smiling. It was crooked, and a few teeth were missing. "Actually, a minute, if you will, Kyoko-chan."

A few of the ANBU in the room snickered.

"The rest may leave." In less than a second the ANBU forces disappeared without a trace.

Neji slipped off his porcelain hawk mask, revealing a blank visage. Despite his outward coolness, his breath stopped: Did Danzou find out what Tsunade told him?

"You know, I would pay mountains of money to see you lose that other mask you wear all the time."

An unimpressed look momentarily twisted Neji's face.

"Ah, well that was no fun, Neji-kun!" Danzou laughed before landing himself in a coughing fit. "You shouldn't have shown that face to me, I wanted to tease you more," he ended, his voice raspy.

"If that's all, Commander…" Neji stated, his tone a practiced mix of impatience and artificial respect.

"Just a minute, you," Danzou said sharply, with all the authority of a Special Operatives commander. "Mind telling me what else that pretty little cousin of yours can do?"

"I cannot," Neji replied stiffly, "as I was completely unaware of those abilities until yesterday, sir."

"Huh." He eyed Neji suspiciously for a few moments and then walked away, apparently satisfied with his subordinate's response. "Well, you Hyuuga are pretty damn secretive, anyway. Don't you worry about _Hinata-sama_, Neji-chan," he called derisively, not stopping. "I'll find out what she can do myself."

Danzou turned at looked at Neji with his good eye.

"Report for duty tomorrow at 7 sharp, Hyuuga." The door slammed shut, the noise echoing in the room.

_Damnit. _

Neji slid on his mask and immediately left for Konoha's hospital.

* * *

A/N. Hi guuuuuuuysss. I'm so sorry it's been so long. A lot's been going on, you don't even want to know. I've been really stressed, what with school and boys and school and family and school and…did I say school? Anyway, if you would leave a comment it would make me feel better!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for all the amazing reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

**IMPORTANT: UPDATE 01/04/10**

**This is the betaed version. It is about three pages longer than the original chapter, and it is _much _better, with significantly more details than before. Therefore I suggest that you read this again to make sure you know what's going on. I will update soon! Bear with me, it will be a week at most. Thanks guys for putting up with me, and happy new year!**

**Thank you, Celia!  
**

So here we go!

**A Mirror for the Sun: Chapter 3.**

**

* * *

**

"So then what happened?" Kiba asked.

"Tsunade-sama told us what our mission was, and then he left."

"Just like that? He didn't say _anything?_" he asked incredulously from his place over the cardboard box labeled 'dishes--FRAGILE'. Disregarding the sign, he dropped the box carelessly onto the wooden floor. Hinata threw him an exasperated look.

"Not exactly," she said after he apologized. "I felt bad that he was stuck with me—again, after all this time—so I told him I was very sorry."

"And?"

"He said," she started, deepening her voice to match Neji's baritone, "'you are in a dangerous situation as well as the heiress to the Hyuuga clan. There is no need for such wasteful emotion'."

Kiba snorted and threw himself onto Hinata's once comfortable couch, now covered completely in plastic. "That sounds like him. He's always been an asshole. Goddamn."

Hinata looked up from her own corner of boxes, regret clear in her white eyes. "Even if he said it, I can't help but feel…" she trailed off quietly.

"Nah, you really shouldn't feel guilty. I think we both know Neji places duty in front of everything so it's okay."

She sighed. "This is true."

Her words were followed by an amiable silence, broken only by the soothing ticks of the second hand on the clock Hinata left on the wall. Hinata wistfully looked around at the bare walls of her soon to be sold apartment. She, along with Kiba, Shino, Kurenai, as well as Amaya—Kurenai's four year old daughter—had painted the walls of her living room a soothing lavender when she first moved in. Hinata smiled a little, remembering the set of handprints the group left in her linen closet; it was a particularly precious moment, and she teared with nostalgia.

"Oi, Hinata. I have to go. My mom wants to set me up with another girl—" here he rolled his eyes in frustration—"and she'll kill me if I go looking like this," he said, indicating his sweaty, wild appearance.

"Go. It's ok, really! The movers will do all the work from here; I just needed help packing up."

After Kiba departed, Hinata fell upon the couch, fatigued from the day's work. She put an arm over her eyes and remembered the meeting exactly, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

_"Listen well," Tsunade began. Her face was tense, and immediately Hinata's spine straightened in response. "In nine months, Tanaka Ichiro will come to Konoha. Do you recognize the name?"_

_"He's a politician," Hinata responded uneasily. At the side of her bed, her cousin went still. _

_Tanaka Ichiro was a notoriously cruel man whose cunning had saved him from lifelong imprisonment. While he had never (officially) done any scientific projects on humans, like Orochimaru, he was responsible for a good deal of the genocide in the Land of Waves._

_"Correct" Tsunade said grimly. "His goal is to acquire Konoha as an ally in his quest to conquer Suna, whom he's had a personal vendetta against for years." Tsunade's nostrils flared, and Hinata couldn't help but look at her cousin in dismay. Unsurprisingly, he offered no sympathy and stared straight at the Hokage._

_"He already has huge support due to the infamous cruelty of the former Kazekage, and nothing we say would be able to deter him or his followers," Tsunade continued, ignoring the unpleasant twists in Neji's face. "We cannot remain neutral or risk losing Suna as our ally. No doubt, if Tanaka is successful, he would turn on us and we would become his next target."_

_"Excuse me, Hokage-sama."_

_Tsunade turned to Neji, her eyes sharp as a hawk. She raised an eyebrow, waiting._

_"Why," Neji demanded slowly, "is elimination not a viable option?"_

_"If Tanaka was a simple ninja, we would not hesitate to eliminate him. But in this case, since he is a civilian political leader, assassination would grant him martyrdom." She paused bitterly. "His cause would surpass his death, become infallible; his followers are not only shinobi, but civilians. Civilians are the most dangerous," she breathed grimly, "because civilians will **always** be considered casualties. Their deaths infuriate other civilians and the next thing we know we have more bloodshed than all three shinobi wars put together."_

_"We need to sabotage him, and this is where you come in. You will instigate a memory loss," Tsunade stated calmly. "__'His undiagnosed memory loss will affect his behaviour accordingly and paint him more irrationally to his followers."_

_Which, Hinata reflected unhappily, would undermine both Tanaka and his movement. The patchiness of the memory loss would make him behave more irrationally and erratically, effectively emulating mental imbalance. And yet..._

_"You will steal his memory one day, give it back the next, and so on and so forth until the men disband."_

_"Excuse me," Hinata said, beginning to panic. "I-I—With all due respect, wouldn't Yamanaka Ino's abilities be a little more fitting for this kind of thing--"_

_"Hinata!" Tsunade boomed. "Do you think we haven't reviewed the possibilities? Ino can only control his mind for a few very brief moments, and during that time he will know that someone has invaded his mind. He needs to truly lose his mind, and to do that, he needs to believe he's losing his mind." She looked at Hinata meaningfully. "Your own abilities, on the other hand…can be much more permanent."_

_Hinata instead stared hard at her white hands, avoiding eye contact with her cousin and mentor. _

_"Then it is decided," Tsunade said, moving to stand. "Hyuuga Hinata, you will train with ANBU captain Hyuuga Neji everyday until you are able spar on equal grounds with him. After five months are up you will join Tanaka's camp site and follow him for as long as necessary."_

_Hinata shut her eyes._

_"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

* * *

_

_Yes, Tsunade-sama._

The words that came from Hyuuga Hinata's mouth not a few days ago were so incredibly forlorn Tsunade couldn't help but wonder if Hinata perhaps was aware that the mission would, in all likeliness, take her life.

It was an A-ranked mission, but Tsunade knew it merited _at least _an S rank.

She pursed her lips and looked out her window at the Hokage monument. What would her predecessors do? The village came first, she knew.

But, if she had read him correctly, Tsunade saw that Neji had recognized the high probability of the Hyuuga heiress not returning from the dangerous mission.

Hiashi would be beyond furious; the loss of political support - not to mention the donations that practically rebuilt the village after its decimation at the hands of Akatsuki, and still maintained parts of Konoha that the villagers themselves could not fund with their meagre salaries - would be guaranteed. However, the emotions of an unstable father could push Hiashi further past the expected losses she'd considered. Losing Hyuuga support was acceptable; gaining Hiashi's enmity, however...

Tsunade rolled her neck in order to relieve the stress that had built itself up as the problems exponentially increased. A few weeks ago, the crick in her neck was a tiny nuisance, but it had long since become a health hazard. Tsunade looked out the glass window to stare at the rock carvings of her forefathers.

And then one-eyed weasel was becoming more audacious by the day. Despite his attempts to sneak about, Tsunade was well informed of his plans at a coup d'état. She also knew that in nine months time—the same time Tanaka Ichiro was due to arrive at Konoha—Danzou would go about this attempt on her life. It was easy for her to recognize the ties between Danzou and Tanaka; obviously, the politician had promised the ROOT leader power if he agreed to support Tanaka in his efforts to capture Suna.

What would the first Hokage do?

She growled lightly, stuck in a political rut. There was no direct evidence to imprison Danzou, who was not a threat to be taken lightly; alone, she could take him—this was a guarantee. However, with the ten or so ANBU members dedicated to him…

She wrung her fingers together. Luckily, Danzou had fallen for the first part of her plan. Unfortunately, that part of the plan involved Hinata.

The rocks that resembled her grandfather and the other great Hokage did not move to guide her, and they never would. Tsunade knew she was alone.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

Shizune entered the room with an armful of folders. Tsunade sat down heavily in her chaise. "What am I going to do, Shizune?"

"About what, Tsunade-sama?"

She heaved a great sigh. "Tanaka Ichiro."

"Ah." Shizune frowned. "You have a problem, indeed."

"He is a dangerous, dangerous man."

"It's not like you to get so nervous, Tsunade-sama," Shizune commented worriedly.

"If he succeeds," the fifth Hokage stressed, "we will have the greatest war known to mankind on our hands."

Shizune shook her head, her brows furrowed. "That man is pure evil."

"And Hyuuga Hinata accepted the mission."

"Now what?"

Tsunade reached for a bottle of vodka kept underneath her desk. "Now, we watch as things unravel."

Shizune stared at Tsunade. "What about Danzou? You're just going to let him do whatever he wants?"

Tsunade threw back a shot like the pro she was. "Correct," she mumbled, as the liquor burned its way down her throat. "Neji and Hinata have been instructed to allow him to find out the 'extent' of her abilities."

Shizune gaped. "Which is?" she demanded incredulously. She helped train Hinata as well, after all, and hardly wanted her student to fall prey to Danzou--much less Tanaka.

"That she can only delete memory. He will find out no more than that," the woman promised. "Meanwhile, his preoccupation with Hinata and Tanaka will give me some room to breathe and think up a way to foil his plans. If I have it my way, Hinata will never have to leave Konoha."

"And if things go wrong?"

Tsunade ran her tongue over her teeth; it was a habit she'd developed when she'd began her medic training.

"Hinata most likely will die. Neji might get away. Tanaka Ichiro is a very intelligent man, surrounded by ninjas even more intelligent than he. They come to Konoha. There will be a war," she predicted grimly. She took another shot.

Shizune shook her head slowly. "Tsunade-sama, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I hope so, too."

* * *

Hinata looked around at her childhood home. It had not changed, save for a few decorative items replacing formerly empty space.

"Hello?"

She walked in two separate rooms before anyone answered.

"Hinata-sama, you're here already!" remarked a wrinkled old woman--Hyuuga Tomoyo. "I'm sorry, I haven't prepared anything yet, I thought you were coming later--

"It's fine," Hinata assured the chef. "Really. Um. Is my father in? Or my sister?"

"No, I believe he had a meeting to attend. I don't know where Hanabi-sama is, but most likely she is with her team."

"I see. Or--" she paused. "Is Neji-san here?" she ventured.

"Neji?" the old woman repeated. "Why, that boy hasn't been to the compound in ages. I'm sorry dear."

Hinata shook her head. "It's fine. I was just wondering."

"Is there anything else you need?"

"Um, if someone could perhaps help me move my things in--

"Oh yes, yes, I'll find someone. Please get some rest, your things can be moved after dinner time."

Hinata smiled gratefully at the old woman, who was somewhat like a grandmother to her. "Thank you. I think I will."

Excusing herself, she walked up the wooden stairs, feeling the ridges and smooth planes of the familiar walls of her childhood underneath her fingers. Hinata inhaled the clean scent of jasmine that always surrounded her home and smiled wistfully--perhaps, she wondered with some amount of irony, if she should thank Danzou; it felt surprisingly good to be home.

She turned right and slid the shoji door open. The smooth, lavender-fragranced sheets of her childhood beckoned and Hinata slipped into her old bed.

Dinner was a surprisingly light affair. Hanabi and Hiashi both greeted her warmly (as warmly as the Hyuuga patriarch and genius could, anyway). The food was, as always at the Hyuuga home, delicious and Hinata bowed her head in thanks.

"Thank you for the meal."

Hiashi stood up from his place at the head of the table. Hinata and Hanabi followed. "Goodnight, Hanabi," her father said.

The girls exchanged glances and Hanabi raised a perfect brow. "Good night, Father."

"Hanabi."

The younger Hyuuga turned around gracefully. "Yes, Father?"

"I will not tolerate any snooping."

Hanabi never lost her composure. "Of course, Father." But she threw a quick look towards Hinata, who knew she would be pressed for details once her father was done disclosing whatever he needed to tell her.

The door slid shut and Hiashi waited a few moments to ensure that Hanabi was out of hearing range.

"You never clarified why you so suddenly needed to move back."

Hinata lowered her gaze to the floor, uncomfortable with the conversation. It was an unpleasant reminder that, despite her being somewhat comfortable and accepted by her family, she was still in danger.

"Hinata. I am not a fool. Did you think I would not realize something urgent must have taken place, if you decided to suddenly move out of your apartment, and back home, without giving me any prior warning?"

"No, Father."

And Hinata began to explain her predicament as vaguely as she could. The familiar feeling of fear crawled into her heart as her father's face tightened with every word uttered. His brow furrowed and the lines around his mouth firmed.

She abruptly stopped talking once the veins around his eyes began to bulge. Waves of anger rolled off his body.

"F-Father!" she exclaimed, alarmed.

"What," he growled, "is that Hokage thinking? I will put an end to this madness now."

Hinata panicked. "Father, please--

"You are not qualified for such a burden--

"--don't!"

"Don't interrupt me, Hinata!"

Hinata bristled; it was no small annoyance to still be treated like a child despite her nineteen--almost twenty years. Straightening her shoulders, she mimicked what she'd seen her father do for years.

"Father," she started firmly. Her lips even thinned the way his did.

Hiashi momentarily forgot his distress, not a little surprised by the firmness of his elder daughter's voice, and he would have cracked a small smile in pride had not the matter been so grave.

"Leave the matter to me. I will--"-- here she almost faltered--"--complete the mission Hokage-sama has asked of me."

Hiashi sighed. In matters as important as what she had previously described, there was no other option than to complete the mission. He just wished--

It was of no matter. Hiashi found out years ago that what he wished for was very different from what destiny had in store.

"The matter is closed then," Hiashi reluctantly after a long pause and Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. Tsunade-sama no doubt, would have been greatly annoyed had Hiashi attempted to step in on behalf of his daughter; Hinata knew she would have been mortified.

Before she could retire for the night, Hiashi had another matter weighing heavily on his mind.

"I leave for Earth Country in a fortnight."

Hinata stared at her father. 'And?' she wanted to ask.

"You cannot stay here longer than that."

"Wh-Why not?" she demanded with the least amount of force she could, lest her father think she was being obstinate.

"Last time I was out on a mission and you were left alone, you very nearly died."

Hinata wanted to argue, but she'd already won one battle, and that was a great battle indeed. Not eager to start another war of wills with her father, she remained quiet--regardless of the fact that it was over four years ago, and she was fighting Pein--not to mention she had already been gravely harmed before doing so.

"I won't be alone, though," she ventured.

"My word is absolute on this matter, Hinata. You managed to heavily injure yourself despite being in the presence of your bodyguard."

"Where would you have me go?"

"You will be with Neji."

Hinata closed her eyes. _Why? _"I released him of his duties two years ago."

Irritation surged through Hiashi. Why could she not understand how perilous her situation was? Neji had accepted it as his duty to protect Hinata. He would not love it, Hiashi knew; however, he would tend to her diligently as Hiashi understood only Neji could. His prowess as Hinata's protector had been proven time and time again. The only time Hiashi had entrusted Hinata to another protector--Hyuuga Ko--Hinata had very nearly died. It was unacceptable, and so it was decided: whether or not Hinata had officially let her cousin go, Hyuuga Neji would be the only protector for Hinata; it seemed he was born for it.

"It is my final decision, Hinata. Either he will return to the compound for the duration of this mission, or you will go there. That is your choice."

Admittedly, Hiashi knew his daughter well. Unwilling to inconvenience Neji by forcing him to relocate, she would choose to move to the other side of Konoha so that Neji would not have to relocate himself. This was fine with Hiashi, who knew that Neji could identify intruders much better in a smaller vicinity than the Hyuuga compound.

Hinata agreed--rather morosely, he thought with some amount of distant amusement--and exited the room, leaving Hiashi alone with his thoughts. Thinking of his nephew brought up unpleasant emotions in the Hyuuga patriarch, who had heard rumors of Neji's desolate situation.

He'd attempted on several occasions to speak to his nephew candidly, but Neji was considered a genius for a damn good reason, and Hiashi could never quite catch him. He even used his authority as Hyuuga leader to summon the ANBU captain, but Neji's mastery of lack of facial expression surpassed even Hiashi's, and with very little satisfaction, Hiashi allowed Neji to leave after hours of silence.

Perhaps this little intervention would help both his daughter and his nephew. Hinata had a way of getting under Neji's skin, and he had witnessed firsthand Neji's special way of training Hinata so that she grew exponentially stronger.

It would be for the best.

* * *

Three days later, Hinata found herself at her cousin's doorstep. When her father became aware of her delay in speaking to Neji, he threatened to summon the jounin--which they both knew he _hated_--and tell him the news himself. Knowing how harsh and blunt her father could be, Hinata immediately agreed to speak to Neji the very same day.

She raised her arm.

She put it back down.

She raised her arm.

She put it back down.

She raised her arm, ready to knock.

She put it back down.

Hinata raised her arm once more, poised to knock--

Neji opened the door. Hinata squeaked. "Is there something I can do for you, Hinata-sama?"

"H-hello, Neji-san," she greeted sheepishly, blushing at her foolishness.

"You've been out here for ten minutes," he stated, unimpressed.

"Ahh, y-yes, I guess I have." The rosy tint on her face bloomed.

He stared, hoping that the weight of his gaze would stir some sense into his petite cousin. Why didn't she just knock?

Well, Neji conceded, as he looked into her frightened, shifting eyes. He does know why. He opened the door wider and she walked through the portal.

He motioned for her to sit. As Neji locked the door, Hinata placed herself on the very edge of the sofa-- directly across from the weapons shelf. The combination of Hinata's desire to leave the apartment with the glare of the sunlight reflecting off of the glass covering protected her eyes from seeing anything more than an impressive weapons collection, and Neji was infinitely thankful for it.

He repeated his earlier words calmly. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Hinata straightened, stoutly ignoring the vodka bottle lying on the floor, right next to her chair. It was not her place to ask him questions about his personal life; not now, not ever. She put it out of her mind. "There…is a problem."

He waited.

"Although I have moved back to the Hyuga compound, my father thinks it to be unsafe, as he leaves for a mission in less than two weeks."

Hinata hesitated to continue, but Neji immediately understood.

"He would like for me to come back to the Hyuuga vicinity," he said emotionlessly.

Hinata didn't know why she was so anxious--he was reacting just the way she thought he would.

"Yes. Well," she amended, "there is another choice. You could stay here, but…"

"You would move in." The line of his mouth was set.

"Yes," she said quietly.

Neji once again stared at his cousin. At the hospital, he found his situation oddly cyclical--everything, somehow, came back to the pretty young heiress. He had no idea how right he'd been.

Though Neji was not particularly fond of the idea, it would not be terrible for Hinata to move in. He still felt a protective obligation towards her, despite her releasing him from his Hyuuga duties. She was also the kind of person who would not overstep her boundaries; he'd known she'd seen the vodka bottle not one foot away from the couch, and yet she'd said nothing. And they would train, sometimes, during the day, and at night they would be civil to each other, and maintain their distances.

Hinata would get the bedroom, of course, and it was no loss for Neji, who barely used the it.

Hinata stood up. "Obviously you will need time to think about--

"When would you like to move in?"

The "choice" in Hiashi's ultimatum was too easy.

* * *

It was almost pitch black, but with his years of training, the Root ANBU could see almost perfectly. He soundlessly appeared in the darkened room and headed toward the large chaise that sat on top of a small set of stairs. He kneeled. "Pardon me, Commander."

"What is your report?" came the croaky voice of Danzou.

"It appears as if the target has relocated into the abode of one Hyuuga Neji."

There was a pause. "And?" he asked.

The Anbu swallowed, not liking the nasty undertone carried over in the syllable. "It also appears that the Hokage's personal Anbu will watch over Hyuuga Hinata while Hyuuga Neji is not present."

"This, presumably, is why you have come here without the girl."

"…Yes, sir."

"Useless," Danzou muttered. "Very well. I'll have to do this the hard way, that's all."

"Yes sir."

"You are dismissed."

* * *

Hinata hefted a large box into the small living room. "Neji-san, I'd like to thank you again for this."

"There is no need."

Hinata paused. "Are you absolutely sure it's ok for me to—

"Yes."

"But—

"I don't use the room anyway." To an outsider, he would have seemed unaffected; however, to Hinata's sensitive ears his voice was full with irritation, and she looked down. She had only been a resident for about three hours and she already had gotten on her cousin's nerves.

"Ok," she quietly agreed, and moved her possessions to the room quickly.

She dragged the box by a flap and made a sharp turn into the room. Once inside, she surveyed it, unsurprised that it was minimally furnished and very, very tidy. In fact, it was so tidy and impersonal that Hinata began to understand that Neji, in fact, really did not use the room—just as he had claimed.

She frowned, a little thankful that she was not intruding as much as she had thought she would be, and more than a little worried about her cousin's habits. By nature, Hinata was a mother hen—albeit a timid mother hen—but she knew that worrying about and prying into Neji's life would be unwanted. She was indebted to him enough that Hinata could not imagine doing him any kind of disservice.

And so she ignored whatever questions popped up in her mind and got to business.

She parted the other flaps of the cardboard box and began sorting her things out. Her herbs and other medicinal creams belonged on the ledge, clothes went in the small shelf she'd brought for herself, Team 8 picture went on the desk, her two aloe vera plants went on the balcony—

Hinata stopped.

There was a balcony.

She slid open the door in amazement and stepped onto it, feeling the cold stone under her toes. To the side there were vines crawling up the building, little streams of leaves becoming more and more dense until the wall underneath was no longer visible. The view was magnificent, especially as the sun set over the small river.

Neji entered the room silently, needing a change of clothes. Immediately upon his entrance he stopped. It was no longer his room for the time being, and it was blatantly obvious. The room, with what small decorations Hinata brought along, gave the room personality Neji never bothered to.

Hinata turned around and noticed Neji's expression. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "Do you mind? I just thought I could—

"No. It is fine," he said. "It is your room now. I should move my clothing out."

"Please don't," she said firmly.

Neji nodded took out a simple black ensemble out. He left for the bathroom and upon his return, Hinata fought down a blush. The ANBU outfit was a popular fantasy among the women of Konoha, and Hinata was no exception to this.

"I have a mission tonight. I will be back in a week. Please be ready to train by then."

Hinata nodded, focusing on his words and _not_ his outfit.

Neji slid on his arm protector. "There will be ANBU nearby. Exercise caution nonetheless."

His words stirred a previously dormant worry. Hinata firmly squashed it. She was a shinobi, and had enough 'what-ifs' as it was. "But I would like to go out."

"Do whatever you please," he replied, shifting his mask so that it covered his face. "But do not be reckless, and have your guard up at all times."

And with that last piece of advice, Neji disappeared.

* * *

Two days later, Hinata met up with some of her old friends for dinner. Her heart felt light after what seemed like years, and Hinata nearly skipped to the restaurant. It was nice to see everyone after so long, and after more than a few stressful days, she was finally able to relax.

Hinata looked around at the restaurant they regularly met at. There was some construction going on, but it was still the same as ever, with bright colors and music faintly playing in the background. When they were children, Hinata mused nostalgically, sometimes Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei would join them, and it would feel like a big, patchwork family.

"How are you feeling, Hinata?" Sakura asked, interrupting her thoughts. "I know it's been a while since I saw you last, so I haven't been able to ask…"

Hinata shook her head. "It's fine," she replied happily. "My chakra flow is perfect, but I haven't been able to train too much yet."

"You should do that as soon as possible," Sakura said with some worry. "If you don't, the muscles—

Ino and Naruto groaned as Sakura got into medic-mode. "She knows! We _all_ know," Naruto complained.

"Ok, ok. Jeez."

Hinata smiled at their antics. After the waitress took their orders, they caught each other up on what was going on in their lives. Lee was training to attempt to open the next gate without dying; Naruto was beginning to learn his father's famous flash technique; Tenten was assigned a team to teach.

"Wow, really?" Naruto asked.

"Yup," she said contentedly. "Those suckers have no idea what they're in for."

The table laughed.

"So far I like them, though. They have spunk."

Ino smiled wistfully. "Those kids are lucky. Asuma hated us when he first got us."

"Same with Kakashi-sensei," Naruto exclaimed. "I'm sure Asuma-sensei never said anything to you, but that bastard actually told us he didn't like us."

Hinata could not believe that the teachers could be so rude, and Kiba expressed his disbelief as well. His eyebrows rose. "No way!" he said, almost in awe.

Hinata shook her head in exasperation.

"It's true," Sakura affirmed.

The waitress interrupted and distributed their orders. As they all dug into their food, Ino immediately confronted Hinata.

"Oh yeah! Hinata! I heard you're living with Neji now!"

Hinata choked on her lemonade. "E-Excuse me?"

"Ino!" Sakura scolded, patting Hinata on the back gently. "What the hell?"

"What? Everyone's dying to know, anyway, and it's better if Hinata clears up any rumors!"

"You are clueless as usual, Pig," Sakura glared.

"How did you know?" Hinata asked weakly. Her living situation was not something she exactly wanted broadcasted, though she supposed that if Danzou was interested enough, he would have known the moment she left her home that she was moving in with her cousin.

"Umm…common knowledge?"

Hinata sighed.

Naruto leaned in, as did Tenten and Lee, who were suspiciously silent through the discussion. "So it's true?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes," Hinata confirmed softly.

"Why?" he asked, surprised.

"Um, well…it's…kind of…umm…" Hinata paused, cursing herself. The stutter was something from a different life, and she hated when it came out through her nervousness. "I can't really—

"Out with it!" Tenten snapped.

The table went quiet. Tenten flushed.

"I am so, so sorry, Hinata-san." Mortified with embarrassment, Hinata just nodded, and proceeded to look at her fork.

Ino changed the subject awkwardly, but the hot blush never left Hinata's face. She put down her spoon.

"I'm sorry," she announced, "But I should go. I have to wake up early…"

Ino and Sakura threw nasty looks at Tenten, who looked down shamefully.

"Are you sure, Hinata-san?" Lee asked, his shamefaced on behalf his teammate.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan," Naruto piped up. "You should stay a little bit longer."

Hinata abhorred fuss, and her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. "But I really must go. I apologize," she said, bowing low to hide her face.

"I should go too," Tenten said guiltily.

The two girls put down some money on the table and left after an awkward parting.

"Hinata," Tenten urgently apologized as they left the restaurant, "I just want you to know, that I am so incredibly sorry."

"It's ok," the petite kunoichi replied uncomfortably.

"Really, I was out of line."

Hinata was quiet.

"If I were you, I would have slapped me without a second thought. But you aren't me, are you?"

Tenten rushed to explain in the face of Hinata's continuous silence.

"It's just that, we—me and Lee, I mean—haven't spoken to Neji _literally_ in years. That's why…"

Hinata sighed, beginning to empathize. If Kiba or Shino suddenly were ripped from her life, she would be just as desperate. "It's ok, Tenten-san. I understand."

"I'll walk you home," Tenten volunteered, hoping to redeem herself by offering some kind of service.

"I'd like that."

Tenten and Hinata spoke on several subjects—all light matters, until they approached the apartment building.

Tenten looked glanced furtively at the building.

"Would—would you like to come in?"

Tenten refused. "I won't make you feel awkward."

"Maybe just for some tea?" she ventured.

Tenten smiled. "Thank you, Hinata-san."

* * *

Neji sprung through the trees of Konoha, eager to get back to his apartment. The mission ended early, and terribly; one of his subordinates had perished in what was supposed to be a routine checkup of the outskirts of Fire Nation. It was what happened when people let down their guard, Neji knew, but it didn't stop the rage and guilt from consuming him. The intruders were eventually killed, but their deaths did not bring the remaining ANBU any real peace; each of them had learned lifetimes ago that one death did not bring justice to another.

The branches behind him rustled as his surviving team members brought up the rear. Seeing the approaching gates, Neji leaped over a log and stopped running. His teammates came down from the trees.

"We meet at the Hokage's office tomorrow at eight A.M."

"Yes, sir."

The trio separated, and Neji headed west towards his apartment. Despite his eagerness to shed his bloodied outfit, he couldn't help but dread the moment when he would meticulously place the shuriken that went through Inoue's throat into his shelf. He touched it lightly, the somewhat dry blood still smearing on his fingers.

Another man was dead, and it was his fault.

Neji hopped from one building to the next, relishing in the fierce wind picking up from the south; Neji never wanted more to smash his mask so hard to pieces, to grind it to dust lifted by the wind, so he could feel that same wind, that whimsical freedom glide over his face.

It was a fool's dream, but one he wished to ascertain nonetheless.

Arriving at the door to his apartment, he pulled off the mask and slid it into his ANBU vest. He jiggled open the door.

Neji froze, as did the two kunoichi.

"Neji!"

He had seen her face around, but made it a point to ignore her and his other former teammate. They were nothing but distractions, links to a happier, more ignorant life he'd forced himself to abandon once he began to wear the mask of death incarnate.

"Tenten."

It was a bland greeting, and her bright eyes seemed to dim. Hinata moved herself to the smallest corner of the room, as if sandwiching herself into the corner by the fire extinguisher would somehow help hide her appearance in the forthcoming confrontation.

"It...it's been a while, hasn't it..." Tenten noted lightly with a weak smile on her face.

It was the smile of a martyr, and Neji's blood began to boil. "No," he said icily, barely restraining the anger. The red-coated shuriken in his vest seemed to throb almost like an open wound.

Tenten gaped. "What?"

"I said 'no.' It has not been time enough," he elaborated slowly, making sure every word was filled with his bubbling rage. How could that woman possibly feel she had a right to his pity, his sympathy when his dead subordinate--

Tenten's eyebrows snapped together. "Hyuuga Neji," she whispered dangerously. "Do you have any idea--ANY idea--what you have put me and Lee through?"

Neji stared. The shuriken seemed to grow heavier and heavier by the minute.

"I am unconcerned." Hinata fell back into the corner even more. This was all her fault, all her fault, why did Neji have to come at this precise moment--

"What?" Tenten shrieked, and Neji thought it fitting that it sounded like the high-pitched clash of two metals screeching against each other.

"You were like our family! You were Lee's brother, my best friend--

"Get out."

Tenten closed her mouth as gracefully as she could. Loathing radiated off her being, and if Neji was the person he was two years ago, he would have been mortified. But he'd learned very painfully that energy used to feel these simple human emotions could not be wasted when so much more energy was needed to look over his country and subordinates.

"You make me...goddamn it, Neji. When you want to apologize you know where to find me."

In response Neji walked past her, past Hinata, towards the bathroom, taking his gear off along the way. With tears in her eyes, Tenten left--but not before acknowledging the frozen stiff figure against the wall.

The apartment door snapped shut, the small sound echoing through the flat.

Hinata slid to the floor, still reeling from the force of the fight. Hearing soft footsteps against the wooden floor, she looked up fearfully.

"Do not invite her or Lee to this place."

Hinata nodded immediately. After a moment, Neji turned and headed toward the shower, and Hinata sprinted into her--no, HIS--room.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

Tsunade frowned, scanning the note. It was marked with an official seal, but still the Hokage couldn't believe what she was reading.

**HYUUGA NEJI PROVEN UNSTABLE  
SUGGEST HE BE TAKEN OFF MISSIONS  
- TENTEN**

Tsunade had, actually, sent Tenten to investigate upon the mental state of one Hyuuga Neji. Shecould not ask shy, kind Hinata for a true evaluation--the only people she knew to be relatively close to the stoic ninja were Lee and Tenten; the former would be impossible to get information out of, and Tsunade was left with only Tenten as a reliable spy. The girl was more than willing to do it.

She'd been hoping for a good report. A relatively good report, anyway--where Neji was only slightly unhinged, like the rest of his ANBU comrades. But he was one of the best, and she couldn't afford to have him lose it on a mission, like so many good shinobi before him.

Tsunade knew what to do.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

* * *

Neji's such a bastard, isn't he? Just wait until the next chapter, he's even more of an ass :x


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys! Sorry it's so late. I don't have too many side notes this time, but I do need to say that chapter 3 has been betaed, and the changes are a little important so I suggest you read it over again. It's also about three pages longer, now standing at a whopping 20 pages!

Thanks so much to Celia! xoxo. She saves my butt every time.

Enjoy!

* * *

**A Mirror for the Sun**

**Chapter 4

* * *

**

_Tsunade knew what to do._

_There was a knock at the door. "Come in."

* * *

_

"Come in."

Hyuuga opened the door and bowed.

"How are you today, Neji?" she asked, taking in his appearance.

Neji was a genius, it was true, and he cleverly hid his alcoholism—but to a veteran like Tsunade, Neji's problem was as clear as the hard liquid he consumed.

"Fine, Hokage-sama."

"Great," Tsunade stated. "You're off duty."

Neji eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?" he asked, genuinely thrown off.

"Think of it as a vacation," she replied airily, though her eyes were as quick and watchful as ever.

Neji frowned.

"You've been overworked. I just read your files," she said, gesturing towards a large binder sitting on her desk. "Seven S and A-ranked missions successfully completed in the last month alone." _Not to mention you're on your way to going bat shit crazy,_ she did not verbalize.

"Nakagawa has completed at least—

"It doesn't matter," Tsunade cut in. "Just take the 'vacation' as an opportunity to start training your younger cousin."

_Hinata-sama. Again._ Neji's temper began to spike. "I understand," he said with false calm, "but surely Hinata-sama does not need training all day long."

Two fine blonde eyebrows rose. "Are you questioning your vacation, Neji?"

"Yes," he responded bluntly.

"Fine then," she said, preparing to be just as forthright. "The truth is that you are overworked and it's showing."

To his credit, Neji's jaw did not drop to the floor. "Pardon me, _Hokage-sama_, but you just credited my finished missions—

"Did I say it showed in your work, Hyuuga?" she said sharply. "Look at you: your life is falling apart. You've become increasingly isolated and actively avoid interaction with your old friends. You must be aware of what these signs indicate. And don't think I don't know about your drinking habits," she warned.

This time, Neji gaped at Tsunade in disbelief. "_My_ drinking habits? I don't think _my_—

"Don't take the tone with me, boy!" she snapped, displeased at being called out. "My personal drinking doesn't concern you, and it never will. But your drinking problem is going to kill you, and that affects me. When that alcohol dependency creeps into your personal life, it'll start taking a toll on your work life and I cannot afford to have you die because you were too inebriated to pull out a damn kunai to save your neck!" Tsunade barked.

"This _problem_ you speak of," Neji snarled, "has not affected my work yet."

"I don't want to see the day it does, Hyuuga. You are off duty."

"But what about the commander?" Neji asked, grasping at straws. "He will be suspicious."

"Danzou reports to me." Tsunade bore her teeth at Neji in a poor imitation of a smile. "I don't care what you have to tell him. Tell him you're getting a gender reversal for all I care. Use your discretion," she said dismissively.

Seething, Neji left the office swiftly.

Barely seconds later, Shizune entered the door slowly, looking after him curiously.

"Stop rubbernecking, Shizune."

Her assistant smiled sheepishly.

* * *

Hinata hummed to herself softly. It was surprisingly warm for the chilly season, and she was glad to be able to leave the window open.

Turning to her sleeping patient, she inserted an IV tube into the genin's arm and examined his face, which was beginning to clear of bruises. Some still lingered, but enough time would erase them from the boy's body—and his mind.

The slight pain of being poked woke the child up. Black eyes—which were, this time around, clear of the sheer panic he'd displayed not a few days ago—looked up curiously at her.

"Hello, Hinata-san," he yawned.

"Good morning," she replied with a slight smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"Fine, I guess."

She lifted the metal end of stethoscope around her neck to his back. "And have you remembered your name yet?" she asked lightly.

She knew what the answer was.

"Nope."

His name used to be Ogiwara Takatoshi.

"Another day, perhaps."

Hinata helped ruin his life.

"Maybe." Ogiwara took a deep breath, like he knew to do when she brought the stethoscope out.

"Can you remember anything new at all?" she asked.

Hinata knew the answer to this as well.

"Nope."

She was, after all, the reason he could not remember the last three years of his life.

"Now take another deep breath for me—deeper, ok that's fine. It seems as if you're getting better rather quickly."

"Awesome." It was said without particular cheer.

Hinata swallowed the guilt painfully.

"We…we haven't found any relatives yet," she lied haltingly. It was more like they hadn't tried to look for relatives yet; nor would they ever.

"Hmm."

"Excuse me."

Hinata glanced behind her, already knowing whose tight voice called to her. "What brings you here, Neji-san?"

She caught the surprise that flickered across his face as he regarded the child sitting upright on the bed.

"This is my cousin Neji," she introduced to the boy cowering behind the sheets.

Ogiwara had previously shown shyness towards strangers, but meeting new people had never brought on such a strong reaction in the adolescent. "He's okay," she murmured gently—though she could understand his reaction.

Even in an agreeable mood, Neji had a very distinct, severe aura. While angry, like he was now (like he was _always, _Hinata thought sourly), his face tensed and murderous intent leaked from him. It was startling; the only people Hinata had ever felt the same fear for had been the the Kazekage Gaara, at the chuunin exams--and Uchiha Sasuke.

_How disturbing_, she thought.

"Is something wrong, Neji-san?" she asked, masking the fear in her voice with mild concern.

"We will begin our training today."

Hinata glanced behind her. "I'm afraid I don't have time today," she said apologetically. "I have a lot of patients to see—

"If Hokage-sama can take me off of duty to train you, then she can let you off duty a few hours early."

_Ah. No wonder he is so angry._ "I-I'll try—

"Prepare yourself for tonight." His voice, full of icy malice, immediately arrested Hinata's objections. "I will meet you at training area 27 at sunset."

"U-Understood."

Before he exited the room, Neji turned around briefly and focused his cold, white gaze on his cousin.

"Do not make me come get you."

Neji left, and Hinata shivered.

* * *

The sky had dimmed to a dull blue, and a beautiful orange lazily spread itself across the horizon.

Hinata's gaze lingered on the scene.

Sunset was nearing.

She clocked in, and with her heart dragging across the floor, left for area 27.

* * *

A set of three numbers glowed red in the dusky light.

5:25

Sunset was nearing.

Neji slipped on his shoes, put away the vodka, and left for area 27.

* * *

Hinata arrived before him, leaning calmly against a training post. Neji was unsurprised; even perpetually-late jounin like Hatake Kakashi had made an effort to be on time whenever Neji was concerned.

Hinata's sleek black hair was tied in a neat ponytail at the crown of her head and she had changed out of her nurse's uniform. She was lost in thought, and Neji made his move.

"You should always be on your guard," he reproached.

To his disbelief, Hinata did not flinch. She looked up calmly. "I knew you were there," she said in her meek voice.

Neji fought down an uncharacteristically embarrassed flush. He had, after all, been watching her for a few minutes before he decided to make his presence known.

Upon thinking about it, he supposed it made sense; team eight was a group that specialized in tracking—of course Hinata would pick up the skill of knowing about everything and anything that was within a half-kilometer proximity.

"I see," he nodded. "Then you require improvement in offense."

Hinata nodded.

"How is your defense?"

"It's…alright," she supplied, hesitant to boast of her nearly impenetrable defense. Knowing Neji, he would find an easy way to break through it.

"You need to infiltrate, not kill, so your defense is much more important than offense," he mused. "Prepare yourself, Hinata-sama."

"Wha—" Before she could finish her inquiry, Neji lunged at her, palms glowing with chakra.

It was only thanks to her eight plus years of missions that Hinata was able to dodge her cousin. She rolled on the floor and quickly swept her leg across it in hopes of tripping Neji. He of course jumped to avoid it and made to attack again, launching five shuriken at her torso.

She'd been expecting the attack and quickly pulled out a kunai and averted them all. Annoyed he had barely warned her before attacking, Hinata threw the kunai with greater force than necessary, aiming it for Neji's Achilles tendon. To avoid it, her cousin somersaulted until he was at a safe distance. Hinata smiled, a little proud that she'd forced her genius assailant to keep his distance.

Her cousin frowned at her light-heartedness.

"Do not be so easy going, Hinata-sama!" he cautioned.

And suddenly, there were about nine replicas of the ANBU commander surrounding her. Her smile fell immediately and she began to panic. One Neji was difficult enough to keep up with—how was she supposed to deal with _nine_?

"Byakugan!" she called nervously, hoping her eyes would help distinguish the original, but it was to no avail; Influenced by his old savior Naruto, Neji had used shadow clones. Simultaneously, they sprung at Hinata, who had no choice but to play her trump card.

"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō!" she cried, and as she waved her arms she allowed thousands and thousands of small chakra needles to escape to hands.

The replicas disappeared upon contact, and her cousin was thrown backwards. Once she ascertained he was not getting up to attack her again, Hinata stopped her defense and ran to check on him.

"Are you okay?" she gasped as she reached him. "I'm sorry!"

The front of his shirt was shredded by the chakra needles, and, Hinata noticed with dread, she had drawn blood. If she made the needles a little bit thicker, she knew she could have done extensive damage.

"Don't worry, Hinata-sama," he said, sounding awed and a little incredulous. "That was…" he seemed at a loss for words. "Unexpected," he came up with, and her shoulders slumped a little. She helped him up and wondered why she would ever think that he would compliment her.

He sat down on the bench nearby and Hinata pulled out her med kit, kneeling in front of him. Neji was looking at her oddly, intensely, and her face began to burn.

"Unexpected," he repeated slowly. "But it was also the best defense I have seen in a very long time."

Hinata looked up at him so fast that she pulled a muscle in her neck. Darkness swam in front of her eyes but she fought it off. "R-Really?"

Neji didn't reply, but his smoldering white gaze remained concentrated on her. Avoiding his stare, she looked down and poured antiseptic onto a cloth and began to clean his cuts. The pungent smell saturated the air around them and only the sound of crickets nullified the silence.

"I guess," Hinata finally ventured, "this means I don't need to strengthen my defense?"

Neji let out a dumbfounded huff of laughter before silencing it quickly. "No, Hinata-sama," he said, unable to keep the sides of his mouth from turning slightly upwards, "you do not."

Hinata, focused on the foreign sight of Neji smiling, did not hear a word he said and smiled shyly back.

* * *

Night fell and morning came. Sunlight streamed through the window and brightened the room.

Hinata rolled out of bed, and, stretching her arms sleepily, made her way to the fridge and opened the door—only to be jolted awake up by an overwhelmingly disgusting odor.

"Oh my—" she choked, slamming shut the white door. "Ugh."

She saw Neji walk down the hallway out of the corner of her eye.

"Is something the matter, Hinata-sama?" her freshly-showered cousin demanded upon seeing her greenish pallor.

"I think there's something…old…in your fridge," she said, holding down the gag.

Neji was unruffled. "I typically am not here for long periods of time," he explained, shrugging. "My apologies."

"I can go shopping after work," Hinata offered.

"Do not bother. You will be meeting me at the same area once you get off."

Hinata nearly scowled at the order but she nodded anyway.

Because there was no edible food in the apartment, Hinata ended up skipping breakfast—and lunch as well, because there was an accident in the lower east side, injuring nearly forty people, and keeping the hospital _very_ busy.

Despite the amounts of people rushing into the hospital, Tsunade grudgingly allowed Hinata to leave early, knowing of her evening training sessions with Neji. Grateful for the chance to put some nutrition in her body, she rushed out and went straight for the first food stand she could find.

"One bowl of ramen, please," she said weakly.

"Which kind?"

"Any," she begged.

"She'll have a miso ramen," a purely masculine voice said behind her. "And one for me, too!"

"Naruto-kun!"

He smiled cheekily at her, and Hinata couldn't help but blush a little. He had grown to be very handsome—almost the spitting image of his father.

"How are you, Hinata-chan? Last time I saw you, you were lying in bed after exhausting—what was it—like ninety-eight percent of your chakra?"

"You were there?" she asked, surprised. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, because you're such a troublemaker that you needed people to watch over you even when you've passed out!" he laughed.

She laughed too, though it was more at his rambunctious laugh than his terrible joke.

"But that wasn't the last time you saw me, Naruto-kun. We saw each other a few nights ago, at the restaurant."

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, remembrance settling in his sky blue eyes. They darkened and Hinata knew exactly what he was going to say. "I hope you gave that Tenten a piece of your mind, Hina-chan."

The sky was beginning to fade into a royal purple, but Hinata paid no attention to it, enjoying her time with her friend too much.

She blushed at the nickname. "N-not quite…"

He snorted. "Of course you wouldn't. You should've thrashed her."

Ayame gave the duo their food, witnessing the interaction curiously.

"I understood how she felt after she explained herself." It was quietly said.

Naruto sighed loudly, accepting the explanation reluctantly. "Well," he said in between enthusiastic bites, "I hope you at least made her squirm a little."

She smiled mysteriously. "Perhaps."

Naruto paused. "You did?"

Hinata took a dainty bite.

"NO WAY!" he exclaimed, taking her silence as an affirmative to his question. "Good for you!"

"Shh, Naruto-kun, people are staring!" Hinata said, in spite of her laughter.

"Indeed they are," came a low, ugly voice from the side. "_Naruto-kun_," her cousin spat mockingly.

Hinata's spine straightened immediately and the hairs on her arm rose.

Naruto was not as obtuse as his comrades thought, and judging by the way Hinata suddenly froze, he knew there was something very, very wrong going on. "Is something wrong, Neji?"

Neji ignored him. "What time is it, Hinata-sama," he asked softly—dangerously.

She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat when he said her name. "S-s-six thirty," she whispered fearfully.

"And do you happen to remember what time we were supposed to meet?"

"S-sunset," she said painfully, closing her eyes.

Naruto frowned and got off his stool. Hinata was a sweet girl, and she did not deserve such treatment—no one did.

"What's your problem, Neji?" he demanded angrily.

Neji refused to answer. "We are leaving, Hinata-sama."

Hinata slapped down a bill quickly and leapt off her seat.

Naruto growled. After suffering through a lifetime of being ignored, he'd made it a point to never be cast aside like garbage the way he'd been as a child.

He shoved Neji, not looking for a fight, but knowing it would start one. "You're an _asshole_, Neji."

To Naruto's complete shock, Neji did not push back, and his words seemed to almost calm the angry ANBU commander.

"I know," he said simply.

"Is that supposed to be a joke?" Naruto asked dubiously. "Because it's not fucking funny."

"No," Neji replied seriously. "It is no joke."

Hinata sighed. It was, once more, her fault for bringing about another unnecessary confrontation between her cousin and an old friend. Judging from Naruto's nearly snarling demeanor, he would not let her cousin go without a fight.

Glancing at Neji, Hinata froze in shock for a second and then immediately spoke up.

"Naruto-kun," she said softly, but with massive amounts of force. "We must leave."

"But—

"Please."

Naruto looked at her pleading face and gave in. "If he's this much of a jackass at home," he said hotly, slamming money down on the wooden counter, "you tell me."

The counter gave a little crack and Naruto stormed off without another word.

Neji turned the opposite way and Hinata followed after, glad to get away from the curious eyes of the surrounding market.

"Neji-san…I apolo—

"Do not worry," he said curtly. "Use that energy for training."

Hinata nodded, beginning to understand his mannerisms. If she'd been correct in reading her cousin, she understood something extremely important.

Because when Hinata looked at Neji two minutes ago, she could have sworn she saw sorrow in hardened eyes.

* * *

Really quickly—to all the reviewers, if you are anonymous leave an email or something! I ***DO*** try to respond to every reviewer, especially when they leave a comment that is particularly interesting or boosts my ego coughcoughJINGYENcoughcough. Haha! I'm just kidding. But they did bring up a good point--the meaning of the title, A Mirror for the Sun, will be revealed...eventually...definitely by the last chapter. haha. It isn't a clue to what happens at the end or anything. So if you guys are curious...there's no point in being curious actually lol.

But thanks everyone, you guys are awesome! Until next time!

: )


	5. Chapter 5

**A Mirror for the Sun**: Chapter 5

AN. Hey guys! I know I basically start off each chapter with an apology, but I do feel a little bad. I was supposed to have this up by last week, but unfortunately it practically rained a friggin monsoon here in New Jersey, and I actually ended up leaving my house because of the flood. My street didn't get hit too bad, with maybe 4 feet in the streets and about 10 inches in my house—but a few streets over had—I heard—about 6 or 7 feet of water. Crazy, right?

Also unfortunately I lost the usb with my original corrections, so I hope this chapter is alright. I had to do some thinking because I wasn't so sure about some of the characterizations, but hopefully everything seems alright.

Let's give a huge thank you to my beta Celia! All together now: "Thank you, Celia!" :]

* * *

A week passed.

Hinata was beginning to adjust to her schedule. A new routine was formed: wake up, go to work, and then train with Neji until the early morning. It was an exhausting schedule but this night, she found herself wincing as she trudged her way back to the apartment, Neji not too far ahead.

She didn't know if he'd been particularly hard on her this time or if he was generally an unusually harsh teacher; either way, Neji had been merciless. He'd forced her to attack him with no break for the greater portion of the night, and despite her role as the aggressor, she'd found herself collecting bruises. Many of them were inconveniently on her thighs, and they burned with every step up the hill.

The moon was bright in the night sky. By its position, she surmised it was near one in the morning. She sighed.

"You tend to do that quite often."

The kunoichi brushed a sweaty bang out of her eyes. "Do what?" When had Neji pulled back enough to talk to her?

"Sigh."

"I'm sorry."

"You have a bad tendency of doing that too."

"...Sorry," she said, detachedly aware of the irony.

He looked at her pointedly.

Hinata hadn't noticed the frequency with which she used the word. It had been ingrained in her, as a child, to avoid her father's harsh criticisms. And it worked--though just not in the manner she had wished. The more Hinata apologized, the angrier her father became, until he surrendered in disgust and handed his burden over to Yuuhi Kurenai. With other people, she noticed that the two simple words seemed like soothing balms to calm even the angriest of shinobi.

After a minute, Hinata responded. "Perhaps I have much to apologize for."

Neji stared at her, his opalescent eyes glowing with an odd mix of curiosity and cynicism. "What have you possibly done, Hinata-sama, which you feel the need to apologize for? Did you accidentally kick your rabid friend's mutt?"

Hinata's eyes narrowed at the scathing remark. "Please do not insult my friends."

"You're avoiding the question."

Hinata shrugged meekly. "I think everyone has a certain amount of burden."

Her reply seemed to annoy Neji, who had seemed to be in a particularly bad, provocative mood. "Unless you have watched the enemy tear out the intestines of your subordinate, or thrust your own sword into a person's skull and consequently watched them spasm until their life spilled out onto the forest floor, I very much doubt you have anything to be sorry for, _Hinata-sama,_" he stressed, as if reminding her that her high status equaled a safe and sheltered life.

It was true that Kiba and Shino were assigned missions much more frequently than the Hyuuga heiress, but Hinata thought it was highly unfair that Neji was judging her so harshly.

"You are not the only person in the world with burdens, Neji-san," she said simply, not allowing the anger to take over.

Neji threw her a doubtful glance. "Really."

Hinata's cheeks began to darken and her eyes flashed. The extremely delicate subject needed careful, heartfelt discussion—not the scorching, insensitive remarks Neji flung.

"Perhaps," she answered vaguely.

Meanwhile, the ANBU captain's tongue seemed to be oddly loose, and he prodded her. "Whatever it was, I am sure it was terrible."

Neji was becoming more and more curious about the strong reaction his younger cousin gave; she had always kept a mild façade, eager for approval and terrified of confrontation. Her inhuman patience irritated him, and it was somewhat refreshing to be able to get such a response—however negative—out of the demure kunoichi.

Hinata too was becoming increasingly fed up with her cousin's condescension.

"Do you know what it feels like," she whispered, "to experiment on someone?"

Every word was said in a low undertone, but Neji heard every word clearly.

"Have you heard your patients crying, screaming and dying, begging for their minds back? Or have you consequently seen them rapidly regress into vegetative creatures?"

Neji stared, trying to hold onto his previous anger. He had not expected the startling confession from his cousin. Hinata's assertiveness was something he'd only been faced with on occasion,

"What I have dealt to my patients is worse than death." Hinata faced him, daring him to contradict her. Suddenly Neji did not want to hear anymore. "The sole difference between you and I is that my ghosts are living—though barely."

Neji turned and wondered if it was normal that his steps felt a little heavier.

* * *

The next day Hinata woke up earlier than usual. She showered, ate quickly, and leapt off the balcony instead of using the door, eager to avoid her cousin at all costs.

The truth was simple: Hinata never intended for Neji to hear of her painful history. Not only was it intensely private, but it was just another reason for him to think of her as the failure-prone heiress. Not even Shino and Kiba knew of her intense guilt, and Neji came too close to finding out the whole truth those short few hours ago.

Hinata jumped from a rooftop and mindlessly waved to a couple of townspeople she was vaguely familiar with.

She knew that shinobi often dealt with morality in thousands and thousands of overlapping shades of grey. What was right in one situation didn't warrant the same action in a different situation. There was no definitive set of rules to measure right and wrong. What was more righteous: to protect the village or strip children of their youth in order to do so? To kill a person because he is from an enemy village, though he might have family waiting for his arrival at home?

To perform tests on prisoners--in the name of progress--because no one would miss them?

Of this, Hinata was one-hundred percent guilty. How many shades of gray applied to her?

She stepped into the psychiatric ward of the hospital.

"Good morning, Amaka-san."

The orderly nodded his head, handing out a small cup of pills to a dazed patient.

Hinata made her way through the small crowd of patients until she reached the room at the end of the hall. There were chakra-laden bars placed behind the door to ensure the creature inside could do no harm to those around him.

The prisoner on the inside was especially dangerous, and Hinata's experimentations had only made him more unhinged. He was her final, and most successful, test subject. The man rocked back and forth on the ground, as if agitated by something pressing.

"Good morning, Kabuto-san."

He stopped rocking. "Hinata-chan." He looked her up and down. "I always forget how pretty you've become."

Ignoring his unwelcome words, Hinata appraised her patient. His grey hair was lighter than normal, now an off-colored white. Despite his young age, she noticed he looked much older than his twenty-odd years; in addition to his oddly silver hair, the darkness encompassing his eyes as well as the worry lines around his mouth gave the man an old, ragged appearance.

A few hypotheses ran through Hinata's mind. Was his rapid aging caused directly by memory erasure? Or was it related to the numerous tortures the man had undergone after being captured?

Or was it something deep and personal, brought on by erasing Orochimaru from his memories?

There were too many variables. She would just have to find out the difficult way.

"I have a few questions for you, and I'd like for you to answer them honestly." She activated her byakugan. "Please know I will be able to tell if you're lying."

He smiled charmingly and then sighed. "The pretty lady gives me no choice. So cruel."

"Do you remember the Battle of Kikyo Pass?"

He gave her an odd look. "I was an infant."

"Do you know the name of your adopted father?"

"Yakushi Naraku."

"Who was the first hokage?"

"Senju Hashirama."

"Who is the current hokage?"

"Senju Tsunade."

"Do you know who Pein was?"

"The leader of Akastuki."

"Well," Hinata said, marking some things down in her clipboard. "It seems as if you are familiar with current events. I'll just ask you a few more questions, if you don't mind."

"Polite as usual," Kabuto complimented from the shadows.

She ignored him. "Do you know who Orochimaru was?"

"Of course I know who Orochimaru is."

Hinata's heart pumped wildly. "Please explain."

He threw her a bored glance. "He was one of the most brilliant, evil ninja to come out of Konoha." He paused, looking at Hinata's pale face curiously. "I wish I could have met him."

Color returned slowly to her face. She was relieved he had not retained any memories of his old master. It would be disastrous if her memory alteration technique was not accurate.

"You know," Kabuto started persuasively, "if you let me out of this cell, I could take a look at you. I haven't _forgotten_ my medical abilities, after all."

Hinata's brow furrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," he cooed sympathetically. A hard glint shone in his eyes, though he maintained his friendly tone. "I should have made myself clearer. What I meant to say was, I know you stole my memories. I want them **back**."

The clipboard in Hinata's hand dropped to the floor.

"I-I-I d-don't…I don't kn-know—" Unable to finish her sentence, Hinata fled.

Kabuto's cackle followed her out, echoing through the halls.

* * *

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the whining chuunin throwing a fit in front of her desk. Naruto's number one pupil had seated himself on the floor and refused to remove himself until she'd agree to give him an A-ranked mission.

"Don't push your luck, brat," she told Konohamaru. "At the rate you're going, you're lucky I'm even _giving_ you missions."

His teammates were apologizing profusely on his behalf, as was his sensei.

"Get up," she ordered. The brown-haired teen looked up in shock, believing he'd finally won the battle. "You're going to get snot all over the floor," she explained, somewhat amused. "Unless you'd rather clean it up yourself."

Konohamaru growled.

At that moment, Hyuuga Hinata slammed open the door and, wheezing out a frantic explanation, ruined her day with the only two words Tsunade could make out.

"Kabuto…knows…"

Tsunade turned to Team Ebisu. "Why are you still here?"

Ebisu rushed his students out of the suddenly cold room.

Tsunade walked over to Hinata and pushed her down into a chair. "Put your head between your legs." When Hinata she refused to listen and continued to hyperventilate, Tsunade—none too gently—forced her head down. Seeing Hinata's breath return to a normal pattern, Tsunade released her grip.

The younger woman looked up, face red in misery.

"Kabuto knows I took his memories."

Tsunade, to her credit, remained calm. "How are you sure?"

Hinata explained the encounter to her mentor and the older woman's frown deepened with every spoken word. Tsunade swore she felt another worry line carve into her face.

"He didn't specifically say he remembers you taking them, did he?" she asked tiredly.

Hinata shook her head.

"We'll have to interrogate him. Damnit." She eyed Hinata. "Proceed with the mission anyway. Leave the questioning to me. It's highly possible that he just deducted the facts from watching you, after all."

Understanding the Hokage's logic, Hinata calmed somewhat. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"I'm giving you the day off."

"Tsunade-sama, I am capable of returning—

"_Now_ you are. But if anything, this has taught me that you do not know how to deal with bad situations properly. You will ask Neji to help you control your chakra fluctuations as well as your facial expressions. It would not do for Tanaka to out you the first day."

Hinata began to sigh, but remembered Neji's admonishment from the night before. She pulled a straight face. "Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"You may leave."

Hinata bowed and left, giving Tsunade space to think. Despite the quiet chaos escalading around her, she knew one thing for sure: she would be paying a visit to one Yakushi Kabuto very, very soon.

Tsunade snarled, grabbing her overcoat. Her heels clicked furiously against the hard floor. Stairway after stairway passed before she reached the barred off area and threw open the door roughly.

"Tsu-na-de-sa-ma!" he sing-songed. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"What do you know of Orochimaru?" she asked curtly, knowing what questions Hinata was required to ask of Orochimaru's former right hand man.

"I already told that to _Ms. Memory-stealer._"

Kabuto's wide grin was meant to be unnerving, but Tsunade was unaffected; she'd seen—and been—worse. "What do you mean by that?"

"I wonder!"

The Hokage smiled nastily right back at him. "I'm sure you'd like to be put in the hole again. Let me just ask--

Kabuto scowled. "What a horribly unpleasant woman you are."

"Well?"

"Apparently I'm right about little Miss Hyuuga otherwise you wouldn't come down here so fast now, would you?"

Tsunade shrugged it off. "Maybe I'm more concerned about what you could tell us about Orochimaru."

Kabuto looked at Tsunade suspiciously and weighed his options. As Hokage, she was not a fool, nor would she suffer any. She was also a painfully astute kunoichi and would know when he was lying. Deciding to live through the encounter without meeting her famous fists, Kabuto spoke the truth.

"I know that I was connected to Orochimaru-sama somehow. I can't quite remember it, but I _know_ it. I have a vague recollection of meeting him, and I _know_ it was the most important moment of my life. You wanna know what else I know?" He didn't wait for any acknowledgement from the Hokage. "I _know_ adorable Hinata-chan has something to do with my memory being gone; otherwise she wouldn't have run out so quickly."

"I don't know where you are getting this from, Yakushi. Daydream all you want. When you come up with something interesting for me, let me know. But leave Hyuuga Hinata out of this—she's just a researcher," she lied expertly.

"Just a researcher," he scoffed. "Sure."

"I'll be back to check on you. Try not to be put back in the hole before then."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he said with a smile.

Tsunade slammed the heavy door behind her. Though their interaction was short, it brought about a distinct, nagging worry.

She was playing an extremely dangerous game with Hinata's newfound abilities. As they had feared, there was a huge flaw in Hinata's abilities. Though they knew from experience that more important memories seemed to linger, despite the chakra block Hinata instilled, they had not understood how quickly the memory could come back.

The fact that stronger memories lingered was incentive enough to have Hinata come back straight after her mission to take care of the child genin's memories. He would have been mortally scarred after his traumatic torture, and between Orochimaru and Uchiha Madara, enough innocent people were dead on account of Konoha.

More pressingly, was the flaw fixable? Could putting more chakra in the older memories help keep them from lingering? Or was the jutsu bound to fail if the memory was too strong?

The theory behind Hinata's jutsu was extremely complex. Using her byakugan, she would install chakra rods to block the pathways the brain used to access certain memories. The deeper and more meaningful the memory, the larger the chakra rod needed. In patients, however, it seemed as if the more they attempted to access the blocked memories, the more the chakra was eroded.

Kabuto's recollection of Orochimaru was a huge indication of this.

A harsh curse escaped Tsunade's mouth. She headed towards the secret library basement, where Hinata's research was kept.

She had a lot of work to do.

* * *

A katana slid neatly through a large piece of wood, slicing it into two neat pieces.

Neji frowned. It was too easy.

So far, in the two hours he'd been training, he already managed to complete three perfect sets of kaiten, six perfect sets of target practice, four perfect sets of katas, and two perfect attempts at surveillance. Though his byakugan could not reach as far as Hinata's, he was just as adept—perhaps even more so—at noticing his surroundings.

He sighed in irritation. He'd only been kicked out of the ANBU for over a week and already he was running out of things to do. There was only so much he could do by himself—ANBU training, for example, was nonexistent. The only training its members got was on missions. Survival was the only training needed.

It was because of the Hokage that he was in this position of extreme boredom. Her words to him last week rang in his head.

"…_your drinking problem is going to kill you…"_

Not that he wanted to prove the Hokage wrong, but Neji had incidentally forgone his morning drink. He ignored the dull throbbing in his temple and violently threw a kunai at a nearby target.

"…_it'll start taking a toll on your work life…"_

He missed by half a millimeter. The difference between life and death.

"…_and I cannot afford to have you die…"_

"Fuck," he hissed, noticing his trembling hands for the first time. Was his body so dependant on the vile substance?

"…_because you were too inebriated to pull out a damn kunai to save your neck!"_

Perhaps she was right.

The sudden smell of smoke grabbed Neji's immediate attention. Unconsciously tightening his hold on the katana, he turned to the intruder.

"Yo."

"Kakashi."

"What's up?"

Neji loosened his hold on the weapon, hating the way it quaked in his hand. "Hokage-sama has asked you to check up on me, hasn't she."

It wasn't a question.

"Ah," Kakashi paused. "Yes. And to deliver this," he said, handing him a scroll.

_Meddlesome woman._

"I am perfectly fine," he replied, stiffly attempting to control his tremors. "Obviously."

"Obviously," Kakashi repeated slowly, watching Neji's trembling hand take the proffered scroll. "Well, I'll just let Hokage-sama know, then—

"Wait."

The grey-haired shinobi turned around.

"…Would you like to spar with me?"

"…Are you sure?"

"I am fine," Neji grit out, though both men knew it was an unmistakable lie.

"I think I hear Hokage-sama calling me."

"She's nowhere near us."

"Oh, is that right…it must have been one of my adorable students, then…"

"Neither Naruto nor Haruno Sakura are in Konoha at the moment."

"Aha." Kakashi rubbed his head and gave a sheepish laugh. "Mr. Ukki needs to be fed—

"Mr. Ukki," Neji grit, "is your fucking plant. You have nothing else to do, Kakashi, just fight me!"

Kakashi gave him a long look and finally shrugged. "I guess not."

"Any special conditions?"

"Don't use your gentle fist," he sighed. "I won't use sharingan."

"Agreed."

"Ok." Kakashi lifted up two fingers. "Let's start."

Neji charged at his opponent, aiming a kick at his gut. As expected, it never hit and Neji's leg met with air. He straightened his spine and immediately put force into his left leg, using the momentum to become airborne. He shifted his body and extended his right leg, aiming for Kakashi's head.

It hit, though his sparring partner was quick enough to lift an arm to bear the brunt of the force. The masked man threw a handful of kunai at Neji, who, still in the air, found no other solution but to execute the kaiten to avoid getting ripped apart. The weapons fell to the ground, sharp side up, and Neji gracefully avoided stepping on them.

"Nice," Kakashi complimented, not the least bit fatigued. The masked jounin grabbed his right wrist. Neji knew that move.

"Shit."

Wildly activating his byakugan, Neji leapt to avoid being gutted by Kakashi's crackling blue chidori. He shoved his fist into Kakashi's shoulder, but the older man disappeared in a poof.

A clone.

The real Kakashi appeared behind him in his weak spot, and threw a hard punch at Neji, throwing him about ten meters.

It was going to be a long fight.

Neji smirked.

* * *

"Tiger reporting."

"I am busy, you fool."

"…Sir, you told me to report to you today."

Danzou put down the incense. "What is it?"

"Hyuuga Neji has been seen training with Hyuuga Hinata every day this week."

"And?" he asked tightly. The ANBU felt himself perspire.

"There is nothing spectacular about the girl. She is weak."

"Hiashi must have asked Neji-chan to train his daughter," Danzou mused aloud. "Understandable, if the girl is to inherit his title. Keep an eye on her anyway. Inform me if something of interest occurs."

"Understood," the masked man said in relief.

"Tiger."

"Yes, sir?"

"If anyone else bothers me today, I will _end them_," Danzou promised with a growl. "No one is to come back here today, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Leave!"

The smell of incense was overpowered by the distinct odor of smoke. Danzou shook his head. "Moron," he muttered. "All these kids are morons," he said to the grave in front of him. "If you lived, would our daughter be just as idiotic?"

There was no response. Danzou turned to the smaller grave adjacent to that of his late wife's.

"No," he surmised in a gravelly voice. "You would not…would you, my nameless daughter?"

Incense smoke danced its way into the night.

* * *

Hours passed before Neji made his way back to the apartment. His spar with Kakashi was rough, but enormously stress-relieving. The young genius was proud that he did not have his ass handed to him, like so many of his fellow ANBU members. He was on level with Hatake Kakashi, and it was with no small amount of pride that Neji acknowledged the fact.

It had, oddly enough, also helped calm his spasms. The uncontrollable shaking was slightly worrisome. He shrugged. He was, if anything, resilient; if Hyuuga Neji could spar on even ground with the likes of Hatake Kakashi, then he could overcome a slight alcoholism.

He opened the door to his small apartment. Immediately he knew Hinata was home; her small sandals were placed neatly in the corner, and the smell of dinner—was that herring soba?—awoke his hunger. It was made with him in mind, Neji knew, and his stomach twisted. Hinata had a way of making him feel guilty that was equaled by no other. He would have to apologize for his behavior—there was no way around it.

"I'm home," he announced, taking off his muddy, bloody sandals.

His cousin did not leave her room.

"Hinata-sama?"

Still no answer.

Neji's brow furrowed. As ANBU, it was instilled in him to always assume the worst, and his heart raced.

There was no hint of any kind of struggle, he reminded himself. Forcing himself to remain calm, he knocked on Hinata's door. "Hinata-sama?"

No answer.

He took out a kunai and opened the door quickly, heart thumping wildly—Hinata would have been no match for any assassin ANBU.

He would know.

Expecting to see blood and other indications of a struggle, Neji was pleasantly surprised to see his cousin merely in a deep, restful sleep.

She looked completely at peace. It was the first time Neji had seen Hinata in any relaxed position since they were mere children, back when his father was still living, when he was a different person, when she was a different person. There was always tenseness in her shoulders, a slight fear in her eyes. But now, looking at her, seeing through the shadows, her brow was smooth. There was no downwards turn of her full lips—

He needed to stop looking at her lips.

Neji gently shook her. "Wake up, Hinata-sama. You will not sleep tonight if you continue to do so now."

Hinata's eyes flew open. "What time is it?" she gasped, immediately throwing the covers off.

"Seven."

"I'm sorry!" she said nervously, pulling on her gear. Neji staunchly avoided looking at her slightly drooping tank top. The shadows in the room carefully played on her body, highlighting the exposed swell of her pale breasts. "I only meant to lie down for ten minutes, instead of sleep for three hours!"

"Do not worry yourself," he said to her. "We will not be training today."

Hinata paused. "We won't?"

"Hokage-sama has sent me notification you also require help in other areas." He handed her the small scroll Kakashi gave him. Her eyes scanned the inked words he knew were there: '_SHE WILL DIE UNLESS SHE LEARNS HOW TO LIE.'_

"Ah." She sounded embarrassed. "Yes."

"I will shower first. Then we may discuss this."

Neji headed to the shower without waiting for a response from his shy cousin.

It bothered him. Everything bothered him. He was worried when he opened the door to the room. He was uncomfortable looking at her. She made him feel guilty. It bothered him, like an itch he couldn't reach.

He hadn't felt these things in a very long time.

It bothered him.

* * *

When Neji left to shower, Hinata went back to the kitchen to warm up the noodles. Though they were not her favorite food, she knew Neji, as a child, loved them. The peace offering was a blatant sign of her remorse, though who knew how her cousin would react.

During her day off, Hinata had done quite a bit of thinking. She knew the former ANBU commander had given up a lot in order to train her, and the least she could do was help around his apartment a little. Though she knew it would be awkward sometimes, Hinata made a promise to help Neji as much as she could during the few months she would be living with him.

A cold draft forced Hinata out of her thoughts. Repressing a shiver, she made her way across the kitchen and into the living room.

"Ow," Hinata hissed. She sat down on the couch quickly and inspected her foot—she'd stepped on something extremely sharp.

Lying on the floor not a few inches away shined a metallic weapon. Hinata reached out and with a flick of her wrist, lifted the bloody shuriken. Dread filled her stomach as she examined it—something seemed odd about it. There was a rusty, dry substance on the opposite side, as if the weapon had been used before, encrusted with blood.

Someone else's blood.

Hinata dropped it.

Immediately the young medic rose to get a clean bowl of water. Sitting down she manipulated the water with her chakra, removing the impurities from her foot before they became a problem. Examining the cut closely, she decided it would not require another tetanus shot, but it couldn't hurt to rub some of her homemade ointment into it. Wrapping a bandage around the cleaned cut, Hinata walked over to the shuriken and lifted it to the lamp for further inspection.

"I don't understand…" she murmured.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Neji-san!"

"I don't want to repeat myself, Hinata-sama," he warned lowly.

"It w-was on the floor, I s-stepped on it."

He crossed the room in three steps and snatched the weapon from her grasp. "Do _not_ touch these," he snarled.

"I-I didn't mean to—" Her eyes stung. The week had been stressful and hellish, and Neji's ridiculous overreaction just about did it.

"These weapons are _not_ your burden!" he growled, stuffing the weapon back into the closed shelf.

Hinata put her hands over her lips to muffle the horrified gasp. She had not been aware of the contents of the shelf, but now she could see clearly the blood caked on each weapon. Hot tears cascaded down her cheeks and onto her hands, still covering her mouth. Hinata tried to suppress her questions, though it was quickly becoming obvious what the weapons were—who the weapons were for.

Neji turned around, and his eyes widened, as if noticing her tears for the first time.

"Hinata-sama…" he muttered, refraining from massaging the bridge of his nose. "Why are you crying…"

Hinata sniffled, attempting to stop the tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Neji was stuck between groaning in irritation and hitting himself in guilt. Hinata was overwhelmed far too easily—how had she managed to live during missions all these years?—but despite it, he knew he had overreacted and upset his younger cousin.

"Hinata-sama…I…"

"It i-is not m-my place," she gasped softly, her chest heaving with effort to push down her sobs. "I-I know it is not my place…but…"

Neji waited, though impatiently and with a certain amount of discomfort. Why wouldn't she stop crying?

"Neji-san…you are too hard on yourself."

_Wait. What?_

"I don't think your subordinates would want you to live in…torment…like…"

Neji's eyes widened frightfully. The veins in his face rose in anger and Hinata stopped speaking.

"You are right," he hissed, shaking in anger. "It is not your place."

Hinata shrunk back in fear, and opened her mouth to apologize, but stopped herself. Was she the kind of kunoichi who would let a few words stop her from doing what was right? Was she the kind of kunoichi who would let loved ones ruin themselves over things they had no control over? After all she'd been through, was she the sort of kunoichi who would stand by and watch as her cousin spirals down his destructive path?

No. It was not her ninja way.

She beseeched him with her red-rimmed eyes. "I know you're hurt…but they wouldn't want you to live like this."

"You know _nothing_, Hinata-sama," he spat, his volume steadily increasing. Neji could not believe his cousin's audacity. "They are DEAD because of ME! Don't you DARE tell me I shouldn't honor them!"

"I'm not telling you to do that," she said with quiet sadness, realizing the incredible depth of his guilt. "But I do not think your subordinates would blame you for their deaths, nor would they ask you to remember them in this way."

Neji barely refrained from lifting his hand to strike her. As soon as the thought finished, he staggered away from her. The notion was despicable.

Though it was a lie to say that Neji had never once willingly hurt a woman—such a thing was difficult, as ANBU—it was not a lie to say that he sure as hell never raised his hand to a woman—to _Hinata-sama_, of all people—because of an argument.

"You know nothing, Hinata-sama." The words came out with enormous strain. "Please leave me be."

Neji made his way to the sofa and covered his face with his palms. Not thirty seconds ago, he was ready to use the same hands to hit his innocent cousin.

He truly was despicable.

A pair of arms hesitantly wrapped themselves around him. When he didn't push her away, her arms tightened around him and Neji hated himself for taking undeserved solace in her arms.

As a child, as a teenager, as an adult, Hinata had always been a weakness of his that he fought off constantly. Neji shut his eyes tightly. He worked so hard to keep her away from him, and it took two years to get her out of his mind.

It took one week for the weakness to settle back in.

_Shit.

* * *

_

Did you like it? Hmm?? Hmmmmm? HMM? Haha.

I wanted to ask you guys a quick question…are any of you interested in KakaHina? I really wanted to write one. Even though it's definitely a crack pairing, crackier than NejiHina, they are a growing obsession for me…I looooooooove Kakashi. Hopefully the first chapter will be out soon, keep an eye out for it! : )


	6. Chapter 6

AN. The story is finally going to get off the ground. From here on, things might get kind of dark, so please prepare yourselves! And the rating is probably going to be going up, so please use your own discretion to decide if you still want to be reading.

I highly recommend listening to the Naruto Shippuden OST…particularly "Despair" and "Decisive Battle," which is from Naruto Shippuden OST 4. It's amazing how fast I can write while listening to this stuff. XD Anyway, that should give you a hint as to how this chapter is going to turn out lol.

Enjoy!

Also…I know that the Daimyo is Tsunade's superior, but I'm just going to pretend that they're equals. It just seems wrong to make Tsunade have to report to anyone…right?

A huge thanks to my beta Celia! This chapter is **so **much better than before.... :]

**edit 28 April 2010**: fixed line breaks, which, for some reason, were not working.

* * *

"Good morning," Hinata yawned, stepping into the kitchen area.

Neji nodded in response.

"Is there any mail?"

Her cousin handed her a small stack of envelopes. Sitting down, Hinata shuffled through it until she saw her name on an official-looking paper. She neatly opened the envelope and unfolded the papers. Her eyes roved over the ink and she sighed.

"Tsunade-sama has shortened my hospital hours."

Neji looked up from his newspaper.

"She said I have too much to fix about myself before the mission."

The brunet picked up his paper again. Hinata sat back against the uncomfortable couch, reaching over the arm to grab an apple. She proffered it to the silent shinobi sitting near her. Neji looked up at her curiously.

"Breakfast?" she asked.

"I don't eat breakfast." His first words of the day.

As a medic, Hinata was appalled by this information. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she informed him, repeating the advice that Shizune drilled into her head. "It's bad if you don't eat. Your glucose levels go down, and then your body—

"Thank you, Hinata-sama," he interrupted, taking the apple. Refraining from rolling her eyes at his child-like behavior, she grabbed a banana from the bowl on the table.

"Neji-san…"

He made a vague, impatient noise behind the cover of his newspaper.

"How are you going to teach me how to lie?"

The newspaper drooped. "I have not thought about how, exactly…would you like to practice now?"

Hinata paused, taken aback by the immediate offer. "If you don't mind…"

Neji neatly folded the paper and cast it aside. "Ok," he said slowly. Hinata could practically see the wheels in his head moving. "I'll ask you a question and you have to lie to me. When I can no longer tell if you are telling the truth or not, you have learned satisfactorily."

Hinata nodded. Neji shifted his chair to face her directly.

"We can start off easy. What's your favorite color?"

_Purple. _"Neon orange."

He gave her a look. "How old are you?"

_Nineteen_. "Fifty-four."

Neji rolled his eyes. "Please try to make your lies believable, Hinata-sama."

She smiled. Neji cleared his throat.

"Righty or lefty?"

_Righty_. "Lefty," she answered easily, taking a bite from the banana in her right hand.

"What is your favorite food?"

_Cinnamon buns. _"Pumpkins," she said with a knowing smile, watching Neji unintentionally crinkle his nose in distaste. "They are the most nutritional and delicious food in the world."

Hinata almost laughed at the revolted look on his face. "In fact," she couldn't help but add, "I think I will make them for dinner tonight, if you're interested—

"No thank you."

"That's too bad then," she said innocently.

Neji sighed. "It is obvious that you have no difficulty answering these questions. Let's try something harder."

Hinata nodded.

"Are you scared about the mission?"

_Yes._ "No."

Neji was not impressed. "Try again."

"I'm not scared," she insisted.

"Again. And look me in the eye."

Hinata took a breath and stared her cousin dead in the eyes. "I am not frightened," she told him calmly.

"Do you erase memory?"

"I-It's more of a _suppression_, really…"

"Answer me!"

"N-No!" she stuttered, hating the disappointed look her cousin was giving her. No doubt he was thinking about how pathetic she was. Hinata looked down and placed her palms flat on her lap.

"You won't be given second chances when Tanaka corners you, I hope you understand. Try again: Do you or do you not erase memory?"

"I do not," she said quietly.

"Let's try one last question," he said, frowning. "We will try again tonight."

Hinata took her eyes off her lap. "Alright."

"Are you in love with Uzumaki Naruto?" Neji asked, intensity burning in his eyes.

Hinata's breath caught. "Wha—I…I don't—

"It's just a question, Hinata-sama," he said coolly.

_No!_ "Yes," she answered shakily. Neji's façade became stony.

"It seems," he started coldly, "as though you have trouble lying when surprised, or when you are asked a question pertaining to something emotional. That is enough for now."

Neji stood up and headed for the shower, leaving Hinata staring at his back in confusion.

The door to the bathroom shut with a firm click. The small sound forced Hinata back into the living room area, where Neji's half eaten apple was beginning to oxidize. The kunoichi sighed.

_Even after all this, I don't mind cleaning up after you_, she thought to herself, picking up the browning fruit and throwing it into the garbage. She picked up the paper, too, intent on putting it in the recycle until she caught the headline of the article Neji was reading:

**TANAKA ICHIRO PROMISES LAND OF SOUND FREEDOM;**

**DAIMYO FIGHTS BACK**

Sitting down on the arm of couch behind her, Hinata scanned the article hungrily, taking in every word the journalist penned. Tanaka had apparently gone out of his way to remind the poverty-stricken citizens of Sound of the role their daimyo played in hosting Orochimaru. The journalist seemed to think the Daimyo had the situation under control, but between his words laid a barely veiled fear of the possibilities.

Hinata shook her head and went to get dressed.

_It's going to be a long day_.

* * *

Neji rubbed the towel against his wet hair vigorously. He flung it across the bathroom thoughtlessly and gripped the edge of the sink, staring at the foggy reflection in the mirror.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Hinata's answer did not bother him.

_Never ask a question you aren't prepared to hear the answer to_.

It didn't bother him.

'_Yes,' she'd said._

Neji's hold on the marble sink tightened.

It didn't bother him.

He shook his head and stiffly unclenched his hands. A more worrisome problem was the recent actions of one Tanaka Ichiro. If the Hokage was indeed serious about sending the Hyuuga heiress to force insanity upon the politician, it would be tricky business. If he gained more supporters, then his security would be infinitely more difficult to infiltrate.

Neji wiped the fog off the glass. If Tanaka succeeded in taking over the Land of Sound—and this was a highly improbable situation—then reasonably his next goal would be to win over the surrounding countries, which included the Land of Fire—widely acknowledged as one of the more powerful of all the nations due to the stable economy and its friendly connections with other powerhouses, such as the Land of Wind and Land of Lightning. These two alliances were almost completely all credited to Uzumaki Naruto, who, with his words of hope and emotional declarations of a better future, won over the Kazekage Gaara and the Raikage's younger brother. The Land of Fire's prosperity was brought on further because of its reliable Daimyo. Though he was a little strict for Tsunade, Neji knew, remembering numerous complaints on her behalf—the Daimyo was a fair man.

However, it was not the Daimyo who would be in danger if Tanaka succeeded. The thought of Danzou in the Hokage's chair was sickening and highly disturbing. Konoha would meet its first dictator. Given how often the village was involved in ninja warfare with under the leadership of more peaceful Hokage, Neji knew that the militaristic, violence-driven Danzou would only increase the shinobi death rate.

Neji opened the mirror cabinet, reaching for the razor and shaving cream. Shaking the bottle mechanically, he considered the possibility of revolution in Sound. There was a very slim chance that Tanaka would be able to reach the ears of the citizens in Sound. It would be absurd—while suffering from the mess Orochimaru created, the men and women of Sound could not have possibly forgotten the genocide directly brought onto the Land of Waves by Tanaka.

It would be absolute stupidity.

Neji pulled on a pair of pants and stepped into the hallway. "Hinata-sama," he called. "Are you ready?"

The door to his room widened and Hinata stepped out in her training outfit. "Where are we going today?" she asked, clearly surprised that he was speaking to her so civilly.

"I thought it might be better to test your new contacts out today."

"Oh, I forgot about those. Let me put them in, I'll be out in a second."

Neji nodded and made his way towards the couch. Shizune had given Hinata a pair of black contacts for the mission, specifically made to cover Hyuuga eyes.

"This feels…odd."

Neji turned and stared, taken aback by the stranger standing in front of him.

"Please don't look at me like that," Hinata said nervously.

"I apologize," he said. "You look different, that's all. No one will suspect you are Hyuuga."

"I guess that's good."

"Try testing your byakugan."

Hinata lifted her fingers to perform the seal. "It seems alright," she said, looking around the room. To Neji's surprise, her appearance was unaffected by the bloodline limit.

"They hide your veins, too," Neji said, pointing to his own eye socket.

Hinata's fingers carefully swept over her delicate cheekbones. "Really? I still feel them, though…"

Neji's brows dipped in concern. "If you're caught with a genjutsu, Tanaka's guards will kill you." He paused. "After the torturing, of course."

She shook her head in response. "Shizune-san said something about it using my own chakra to become repressed. No one should be able to feel my chakra when I activate it." Hinata made a motion to deactivate her byakugan. "She also said that my chakra would diminish twice as fast with these contacts in place."

"It will be much easier for you to get in his camp, now," he said, frowning. "Hopefully you will not have to activate the byakugan often."

"I can't tell you how much better I feel," she admitted.

"Let's try training with those, then," he said, disliking the feeling of dread growing in his stomach. "We can test how long you will last."

The relieved smile on her face was troubling, a cold reminder of how the mission should have been dealt to someone who would not wilt under pressure—someone like Haruno Sakura or Tenten or any of the other numerous shinobi the village had to offer. Neji locked the door behind him with more force than necessary, not bothering to acknowledge Hinata's slight jump.

Because if he ignored it, Neji could at least pretend that Hinata was not surprised by the most absurd things.

Because if he ignored it, Neji could at least pretend that Hinata would survive.

* * *

"I'll see you later, Shizune."

The younger woman looked more worried than normal. "Good luck, Tsunade-sama."

"You're going to worry yourself sick. Lighten up."

"Tsunade-sama," her assistant wailed, "you are meeting with a very unhappy Daimyo! He's going to order you to leave!"

"He will do no such thing," Tsunade replied, waving her hand dismissively. "Just make sure the place doesn't fall apart while I'm in the meeting. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'll be back in the afternoon."

"Good luck," Shizune repeated.

Tsunade walked down the hall of the Hokage building with false confidence, nodding to familiar faces and greeting the working shinobi amiably. She made her way down the stone stairs. The coldness of the underground always bothered her, and she shivered involuntarily, telling herself it was not the anticipation of the meeting.

She nodded to the two guards outside the door. They bowed to her and opened the heavy stone door.

"You have kept me waiting, Tsunade."

"My apologies. Arrangements had to be made quickly since you did not inform me beforehand you were coming."

"I did not," he admitted. "But I had to know why you have not already taken care of Tanaka Ichiro by this point in time."

"Tanaka is a civilian leader," Tsunade explained slowly, surprised by the request. "We cannot simply assassinate him, no matter how troublesome the man is."

"Yes, he is a civilian leader. But he is also a powerful speaker and the worst instigator the world has seen in over one hundred years. Word has it that he is threatening the Land of Wind with war, and that he is arranging a coup d'état in Sound."

"Sir, I understand," she said calmly, using frantic hand signals to tell him to stop speaking—who knew who was listening outside the door—"but I must inform you that Konoha can do nothing to stop that man—

The Daimyo did not heed her silent warnings. "I want him _gone_, Tsunade! Tanaka Ichiro is a pest—

"Quiet!" she hissed at him. Shocked into obeying, the Daimyo shut his mouth. "I apologize for my disrespect," she whispered hurriedly to him, "but this is an extremely sensitive matter. Do not bring that man up again in this village." She lowered her voice so that the Daimyo had to move himself to hear her words. "He will be taken care of."

"You better make sure of it, Tsunade," he said lowly to her. "Or I will make sure you are removed from your post."

"If I don't take care of it," she said, looking him straight in the eye, "it is because _I _will be the one who has been taken care of."

He looked shocked. "What? Who?" he demanded.

"Danzou," she mouthed.

"He is nothing compared to a Sannin—

"He is when he has about fourteen sharingan implanted in his body," she muttered.

"Fourteen!" he said faintly. "This is quite a serious matter, Tsunade!"

Tsunade straightened. "I am fully aware. I will perform my duty to the best of my ability. I humbly request you do the same."

"Tsunade…"

She looked at the older man intently.

"Take care of yourself."

She bowed slightly and excused herself from the cold room.

* * *

Danzou strolled the grounds peacefully, admiring the buds growing on the trees. Nature was quite a beautiful thing, really, he thought, reaching up and grabbing a fresh bud. He easily picked it off the tree with a twist of his fingers, entranced by the way it almost immediately wilted.

"Commander."

"What is it, Sai?" Danzou asked of his favorite spy, twirling the stem of the bud in between two fingers.

"I come bearing a message," the ANBU said, "from your friend."

"Ah," he replied. "I see. What does he say?"

"He wishes to meet you tonight, at a quarter to midnight. The Purple Plum teahouse."

Danzou's eyes glimmered with excitement. "Let him know I will not disappoint."

Sai bent low and in a haze of smoke, disappeared.

The ROOT commander grinned, crushing the bud and tossing it to the side. He looked at the Hokage monument, where he spent the more leisure half of his boyhood, dreaming of this very moment.

Within the next year, his face would be carved into those rocks.

* * *

Morning passed into afternoon passed into night. The day was nothing spectacular, aside from her meeting with the Daimyo. Maybe it was perhaps a little warmer than the average. Maybe it was a little drier than expected. But the residents of Konoha went about their everyday business, attending to business and training as was usual.

Despite this, Tsunade found it difficult to fall asleep. She turned and twisted in her comfortable bed for over two hours until finally giving up. She kicked the luxurious covers off her body and walked to the window, taking comfort in the cool wind.

The branches bristled against each other in the dark of the night.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that business was to be kept in the office," she said to the night.

"I'm sorry."

"You're lucky I recognized your chakra, Sai."

The ANBU came out of the shadows slightly. "It is important."

"It better be," she said, leaning against the screen of the window.

"I am sorry I could not come in person, Tsunade-sama, but hopefully this bunshin will work. My real self is currently with the commander."

"What's going on?"

"There has been a meeting arranged with one Tanaka Ichiro tonight," he said, using nonspecific language to get around the curse seal his commander placed on his tongue all those years ago.

Tsunade inhaled sharply. "It is one-hundred percent true, then."

"We will have total war if they are not stopped," he confirmed, "because Tanaka has just won over the Land of Sound."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Are you positive?"

"The Daimyo has been overthrown. His execution will be held within the week."

Bewildered, and more than a little alarmed at the turn of events, Tsunade made her way to the adjacent chair. "This is absurd! What happened to the military? Why aren't they doing anything? Or even the shinobi there?"

"The military has found they will be better off without the Daimyo as well. They are behind the civilians. The shinobi are seen are the enemy since Orochimaru acted as their leader for so long. They have been run out of Sound."

"That is not all," he said heavily. "The civilians have been spotted learning weaponry." He waited for the information to sink in. "Tanaka is teaching them how to fight. They will fight in the war."

"Ridiculous!" she said, shaking her head. "Once he collects enough fighters, Tanaka will turn to Suna and Konoha for sure. How long before our own citizens get caught up in this mess? Too many civilians will die in this war if we don't do something soon."

"What will you have me do, Hokage-sama?"

The Sannin moved her palms down in order to look at Sai. She was silent, her gaze piercing. After several long, tense moments, she opened her mouth. "Wake up Shikaku. Shikamaru, too, while you're at it. Bring them to my private office."

"Yes, ma'am," Sai said, disappearing into the darkness.

"Sai."

He stilled, waiting for her command.

"Bring Hyuuga Neji." She paused. "And Hyuuga Hinata, if she is with him."

If Sai was surprised, he hid it well. "Understood."

He left, and Tsunade sagged into her chair, wildly hoping she was doing the right thing.

* * *

"No, Hinata-sama, you have to move your leg forward when you're trying to execute the kaiten."

"I did!"

"You did not."

"I'm pretty sure I did."

"I assure you, you did not."

Hinata glared at him. Not only was it difficult training with a natural genius, but the day's training was more intense than usual. She swept back her damp bangs, pulling at the hair harder than usual.

Her cousin eyed her appearance critically, watching a sweat droplet slide down her neck. "Maybe we should head back…"

Her eyes brightened. Finally, Neji was relenting—

"…After you try one more time."

Hinata's tiny frame wilted. Neji watched her carefully. "Forget it," he said to her with finality. "You are at your limit. On your mission, do not use your byakugan for more than six hours at a time."

"It's not that much time," she said unhappily. "But I suppose I won't be fighting on this mission, so it's not too bad—" Hinata froze, and immediately Neji understood.

"Hyuuga Neji. Hyuuga Hinata."

Neji reached for a kunai.

"Godaime Hokage-sama requires your presence immediately," an emotionless disembodied voice said from above them. "I am to accompany you both to her office."

Neji eyed the ANBU suspiciously, looking for signs of a lie. The ANBU's heartbeat was not irregular, but he could have simply been an expert liar.

"I am not your enemy, Neji-san."

"I cannot know that."

"And I have no way of proving it," the voice said. The ANBU came out of the trees. "But I must ask you to trust me. This matter is grave and Tsunade-sama requires your immediate presence," he stressed.

Neji stole a quick look at Hinata, who seemed just as wary. Despite her hesitance, she nodded slightly to her cousin.

"It could be important," she said quietly enough for him to hear.

"It could be a trap," he protested.

"Please hurry," the ANBU called.

"Fine," Neji bit out. "But we walk." Walking allowed for more reaction time if something were to go wrong. Every ninja was familiar with this unspoken truth.

"I am afraid we must run."

Neji frowned, watching as the ANBU back flipped into the trees. Exchanging a quick glance, the two leapt into the shade, using their byakugan to follow the ANBU through the midnight darkness. With his 360 degree vision, Neji could clearly see Hinata's heart pumping faster and faster. Her wide eyes never strayed from the ANBU. It was almost as if she was waiting for the man to turn around, incapacitate Neji, and kidnap her.

They flew past the forest trees, jumping from branch to branch until they reached the outskirts of the village. Finally the ANBU dropped elevation, landing on the ground with the skill only an assassin could possess.

"We are here."

Neji looked around, unfamiliar with the area. His gaze narrowed dangerously. "Where are we?"

"Tsunade-sama's private office. I would have blindfolded you, but you would have been able to see through the cloth either way. Neither did I think for one minute that you would have trusted me enough to allow it," he said, nodding to Neji's grip on his kunai.

"Took you long enough."

Surprised, he turned towards the source of the voice. "Shikamaru…"

"And Hinata's here too?" the jounin asked, blowing out a breath of smoke.

"Hello, Shikamaru-kun." She sounded relieved to see the lazy genius.

"What happened to your eyes?" he asked. "You know what, forget it. Tsunade-sama's been waiting. Pretty impatiently, too; if she's kept any longer I think someone's going to end up dead."

"They would not willingly come at first," the ANBU said. Neji was starting to recognize the deep, somewhat familiar voice. "Please send Tsunade-sama my apologies."

"Sure." Shikamaru turned to Neji and Hinata, throwing the cigarette on the floor and crushing it under his sandal. "Let's just go. I'd rather not keep Godaime waiting any longer than I have to."

Shikamaru performed a set of jutsu quickly—Neji only caught a rooster, pig, and horse—and the large stone door opened with a groan.

Neji began to go down the hallway but Shikamaru stopped him and pointed to the wall. Wordlessly, he disappeared through the stone barrier. Hinata followed his example, gingerly touching the wall and sliding right through it. Neji shook his head wordlessly in wonder of the powerful genjutsu and slipped right through as well.

"Your teacher made this labyrinth especially for Tsunade-sama," Shikamaru told Hinata. "After Pein's invasion, Tsunade-sama asked her to build something where things could be discussed in top secret."

"I recognize the chakra imprint," Hinata agreed quietly. Despite the light conversation, each shinobi maintained a certain level of tenseness that would not be relieved.

After leading them through a series of hallways filled with mirrors and doorways, Shikamaru finally stopped at another ordinary door. He twisted open the handle with a sigh, revealing the Hokage and Shikaku, who were in deep discussion. They had identical grimaces on their faces and did not acknowledge the trio standing at the door until Shikamaru coughed.

Tsunade turned her head slightly. "You want an invitation?" she snarled ferociously. "_Sit_!"

Shikamaru quickly sat himself on the floor next to his father. Neji and Hinata slowly entered the room and sat themselves on the straw tatami laid out neatly for them around the table.

"What is it?" Neji asked the Hokage urgently, struck by the uncharacteristic worry lines her face bore.

"Tanaka Ichiro has overthrown the Daimyo of the Land of Sound."

Hinata gasped. Neji stared intently at the Hokage, who turned to Hinata.

"If he is left alone for much longer, we will have the bloodiest war in the history of human kind."

Hinata paled, looking wide-eyed at the Hokage. This could only mean one thing—

"Your mission has been moved up. You are going to be leaving for Tanaka's camp in two days."

"What?" Neji's fist pounded against the wooden table. "Are you trying to kill her?" he demanded, pointing at the trembling Hinata. "She is not ready yet!"

"Hyuuga Hinata will not be going alone," she said to him grimly. "This mission is too important to leave in the hands of a chuunin. Both you and Shikamaru will be joining her, though Shikamaru will be joining you a little later. He has some business to take care of in Suna first."

Shikaku's mouth twisted unhappily but he remained silent.

"Two days is all I can give you. I'm sorry," she said, and meant it.

The heartfelt apology was enough to startle Neji, whose gaze swiveled over to Hinata.

The kunoichi struggled to collect herself. Her heavy, blunt bangs hid her expressive eyes, but Neji could easily picture the fright and anger that would have been there. Her quivering figure belied her nervousness, and she seemed so _small_ in the dim cavern light. Not for the first time, Neji felt pity for his cousin.

Hinata tightened her grip on her dirty training pants and her head snapped up, leaving Neji speechless at the rocky glint in her eyes.

"I am prepared."

* * *

Why is the rating going up, inner poise? Why is the story going to be darker?

Why indeed, dear reader(s)! Mostly because things are going to be getting gorier and more..adult…later on in the story. I know I haven't really answered the question but…oh well. This was never really a light story to begin with XD

And I know this chapter moved a little quickly, but it was really necessary. Things should go back to normal pace by next chapter.

Also, if anyone was interested in the kakahina I mentioned in the last chapter, it's up now! Ch-ch-check it ouuttt! …Please. Haha.


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.** Oh hey there. It's been a long time! Most of my notes (apologies) are at the bottom of the chapter, but I need to take the time out and give a major shout out to **CELIA** for beta-ing this—_**twice**_! So I hope you all enjoy this chapter, a lot of work went into it.

Without further ado, Chapter 7!

* * *

**A Mirror for the Sun**

**Chapter 7****

* * *

**

"_Hyuuga Hinata is has just been assigned a mission, sir."_

"_Alone?"_

"_With Hyuuga Neji, and, most likely Nara Shikamaru."_

"_That damn Tsunade is up to something. She doesn't need two byakugan and two geniuses for nothing."_

"_If I may, Commander."_

"_What is it?"_

"_It is my belief she is sending them to a friend of yours."_

"…_Interesting. Let's watch what Tsunade-hime tries to do with little Miss Hyuuga."_

"_Yes, sir."

* * *

_The forest was a beautiful place, Hinata observed. Though she'd been distantly aware of the aesthetics before, there was always a purpose that kept her from truly becoming an observer—whether it was rushing to complete a mission, training with Shino and Kiba, or collecting medicinal herbs.

She put a hand above her eyes to shield herself from the bright sunlight. The dense canopy was heavily interspersed with bright yellow rays of light, creating a warm glow. The forest ground was equally colorful, grabbing her attention just as strongly. Fuzzy green moss clung to the sides of each tree, growing down thick trunks and spreading out on to the floor; close by, pink and yellow wildflowers grew between carpets of clovers.

She treaded quietly on the large path, lost in observation.

To her left, Neji stepped forward, kicking at the dead brush of the forest ground. Hinata looked up, surprised by his noisiness.

"Ordinary civilians are hardly silent."

"Ah." She stepped on a crunchy leaf with purpose. "Right."

Neji nodded shortly in response before adjusting the straps of his travelling pack. Still unaccustomed to the makeover he'd undergone, Hinata watched with wide eyes as he passed her, feeling time almost slow down as she searched again for the curse scar that wasn't there; with only a little waterproof foundation Ino had helped her buy a few months ago, she'd been able to successfully cover over the seal with an almost ridiculous amount of ease. When Hinata had, in a daze, trailed her fingers gently over the hidden scar, he'd abruptly shut his eyes and left the room quickly, leaving her kneeling in the same spot awkwardly.

She blinked, jarring herself from her world of memories. Neji strode confidently in front of her, looking at ease despite his uncharacteristically polished attire; he was robed, from head to foot, in expensive black clothing. While the garments appeared normal, if a little stiff, they were also sewn with pockets slim enough to fit only a few shuriken—Tsunade had originally intended for Neji to travel weaponless. Incredulously, he'd demanded to know if she was joking.

The uncomfortable silence that followed had answered for him what Tsunade did not. Hinata could remember the conversation like it was yesterday—maybe, she thought wryly, because it actually happened yesterday.

"_You have got to be kidding me!" Neji shouted, losing his cool._

"_Do I ever kid around, Hyuuga?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "How will you explain to Tanaka Ichiro why a __**businessman**__ has shuriken and nin scrolls in his back pocket?" _

_Neji's jaw tightened as he tried to reign in his temper. "Tsunade-sama: I am, in all likeliness, going on a suicide mission. Don't ask me to start this mission with the noose already tightened around my neck."_

_Hinata felt the blood in her body freeze. "Suicide mission?" she repeated slowly. _

_The conversation abruptly ended, only because Hinata gaped open-mouthed at the pair—would it really be such an impossible task to infiltrate the enemy's base and selectively remove his memories, she wondered. As soon as the thought finished, the familiar fear returned. She buried it in the back of her mind as she excused herself while Neji returned to their apartment. _

_While taking a calming stroll around the Team 8 training grounds, Sai—whose chakra signal she'd finally recognized—delivered to her the mission folder. She'd taken a seat in the lush, green grass and scanned the documents describing what could very well be her last mission._

_After she memorized each grim detail, she had, in accordance with shinobi policy, burned the small manila folder and numbly returned back to the apartment. She and Neji took turns, as usual, showering, and then bid each other goodnight—as usual. But if Hinata heard the loud clanking of the whiskey bottle against the countertop that night, she would never say._

"I think we should stop at the next town, coming up in about fifteen kilometers."

Jerked out of her reverie, Hinata could only dumbly reply: "What?" As she turned her head to look at her cousin, a tree root—which, she would later claim, popped _up_ from the ground—took her by surprise and she tripped. Landing on her knees and hands ungracefully, she fell only a short distance, hurting mostly her pride. Her face burned as she looked up at Neji's exasperated face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, bending down to look at her scraped knees. He touched them gently, avoiding the actual scrapes to avoid contaminating the open cuts. Hinata's face heated up more profusely.

"Just a few scratches," she said quietly, watching him as he took her hands in his. He dislodged the pebbles from her palms, and though Hinata could distantly feel the minute pain, she couldn't manage to tear her eyes away from the man in front of her. He shrugged the bag off his back and opened the pouch with first aid. Brushing through emergency weaponry, he took out an alcohol pad and a little beige bandage.

"W-wait," Hinata stammered. "This is nothing, we can keep going—

"Right now we are civilians. Therefore scrapes like these are taken care of immediately," he said, taking the alcohol wipe out of its paper confinement and cleansing the wound. Hinata felt the slight sting of the pad as Neji swept it across a cut, but easily shrugged off the minute pain—she'd been subjected to broken bones, shuriken to the stomach, and a fistful of chakra to the heart; a tiny cut would not elicit a pained reaction from her, especially not when her pride was already damaged!

Neji turned his face up at the sky. Hinata followed his lead, checking the position of the moon. "It's about 7:00," her cousin said, echoing her own thoughts. "We are already ahead of schedule."

This information surprised her. "Already?"

"We have not rested yet. Normal civilians would have at least stopped for a meal by now." He looked over his handiwork, satisfaction in his eyes. "I think you look like a proper servant girl now."

The Hyuuga heiress looked down at herself and could only imagine what he saw. Dirty cheeks and hands. Matted hair. Pants, torn by the fall.

Yes, Hinata imagined she looked the part of a servant girl, ready to aid Tanaka Ichiro in whatever need he had.

A hard glint entered her eye.

She would prove her cousin wrong and give him a reason to have faith in her. She would not only save him, but Konoha and the rest of the nations.

She _would_ succeed in this mission.

* * *

The afternoon sun fell and slowly darkness crept over the forest. Shades of purple and blue took over the sky and soon Hinata and Neji found themselves looking for an inn at a nearby village.

"An inn?" Hinata asked skeptically. "Can we afford it? Tsunade-sama didn't give us that much allowance, and considering we'll be away for a few months…"

"We'll be ok if we find a cheap enough place, which shouldn't be too hard since we aren't in a large city. We need to collect as much information as we possibly can before we reach Sound." He shrugged off his backpack. "A surprising number of Fire citizens support Tanaka; maybe we can find out some more about him here."

"How do you know?"

"ANBU teaches you a lot of things." Changing the subject quickly, he handed the pack to Hinata. "My apologies, Hinata-sama, but you are going to have to carry this now. It would not be pleasant if we had to explain why my servant was not carrying my bags."

"It's fine," she assured him, easily adjusting to the weight of their combined packs. "Where do you want to look?"

"Not sure. We need to walk around for a little bit and check a few places out."

Following Neji's lead at a respectable five-foot distance, Hinata took in the sights of the small village. There was nothing special about any of the buildings—all were built with the same simple architecture and material. Passing inn after inn, Hinata was beginning to wonder if Neji had any plans at all to stop for the night before a small insignia on the bottom of a window pane caught her eye. Squinting, Hinata could make out a circular object—almost like a snake, eating its own tail…

"Wait."

"What is it?" he asked sharply.

"This seems as good a place as any other," she replied eagerly. "Don't you think?"

From the corner of her eye she could see Neji frowning at her. "If you're sure."

"Positive."

"Alright. Let's go."

Neji slid open the thin door and walked up to the desk, where an old man sat.

"Can I help you?" the bearded old man asked the pair in front of him.

"A room, please."

Straightening his spine, almost as if he was offended by the words, the old man glared at the younger. "One room?"

"I don't believe you are deaf," Neji said in a clipped voice.

"Y'all don't look like you're married."

"We aren't."

"I don't think that's quite appropriate."

Neji stole a quick glance at Hinata, who seemed to struggle with her embarrassment before turning back to the intrusive old man. "We can take our business elsewhere, but judging by the looks of this place, you cannot afford it."

The old man—whose nametag read "Kenji"—grunted. "A single or double?" he asked grudgingly.

"A single, with a floor mat for the girl. We only require your services for one night."

As Neji paid the old man, Hinata hefted the travel bags up, maintaining her image as a servant.

Kenji glared once more at the un-chivalrous display, his leathery face twisting in dislike. Handing Neji the key disdainfully, he said, "Real men don't let ladies carry their bags."

"And if she was a lady," Neji replied, mimicking his uncle's haughtiest tone, "then she would not be carrying my bags." Staring straight at Kenji, he threw Hinata the set of keys and motioned for her to put the luggage in the room. Hinata bowed, as a good servant would, and headed up the creaky stairs.

As Hinata stepped on the landing on the second floor, she heard the old man snarl, "Check-out is at eleven a.m. **sharp**."

Neji's snide promise floated up the stairs. "You can bet we will be gone before then, old man."

Inserting the key into the door handle, Hinata cringed at her teammate's uncharacteristic obnoxiousness. They needed to win the affections of the old man, not turn him away—_what in the world is he thinking?_

With a sigh, she pushed the rough, wooden door aside and dropped the large bags on the floor. It smelled a little musty, and tiny dust particles floated lazily in the air, but overall it wasn't a terrible room.

Light footsteps echoing off the wooden floors signaled Neji's entrance.

"You could have been a little more polite to the old man," Hinata chastised softly, rubbing a tense shoulder muscle.

The door clicked shut.

"You need to explain yourself," Neji demanded with eerie calm.

Hinata's brows furrowed, confused at his anger. "What do you mean? Didn't you recognize the symbol on the door? The snake?"

"No, I did not."

"Didn't you read the assignment?" she asked slowly.

"What are you talking about, Hinata-sama?"

"The mission folder, the ones we got yesterday…"

He stepped closer to her, intensity bleeding from his entire frame. "What are you talking about?" he repeated, his face pale. "Tell me what happened yesterday!"

Confused at his apparent overreaction, Hinata stuttered, "A-After we split up, y-yesterday…I-I went f-for a walk, and S-Sai-kun gave me the f-folder…"

He clutched her arms tightly. "Are you _positive_ it was him?"

"Yes…I r-recognized Sai-san's chakra after realizing that he was also the ANBU that brought us to Tsunade-sama's private office…"

Neji released the frightened woman from his grasp. "I don't understand," he muttered. "Missions of this caliber _never_ get written on paper. If an ANBU survives an S-class mission, his mission brief is given to the Hokage and never seen again. I assume Tsunade-sama puts all these files in a special place."

Hinata immediately understood—S-rank missions were often assassinations; the Hokage would obviously want them to be kept in a protected area, away from unruly employees and spies.

"What is most suspicious is why I wasn't given a folder if Tsunade-sama decided that it was important to give you a mission scroll."

A horrendous and disturbing thought crossed Hinata's mind. "Do…you think Sai-san told—

"It's possible, but highly improbable. Sai's demonstrated for the past few years that his loyalties lie with Naruto, and by association, with Tsunade-sama." Murderous intent emanated from Neji. "I assume you've burned the folder by now."

Hinata's assent was almost inaudible.

"What else was in it."

Neji listened carefully as Hinata described, in detail, the contents of the mission folder. The contents were normal—political agenda and affiliation, photo of the target, résumé. Though it lacked the target's location, this was to be expected; Tanaka Ichiro was a sneaky bastard constantly on the move, whose location was disclosed to only a few followers.

"Can we trust it?"

"I don't know." Neji's rigid body stance betrayed his anger. "But I'll go into town and do some research. If most of the information seems accurate, at least we will know the folder is reliable—at best."

At worst, she heard in the silence, they would still be completely in the dark as to whether or not the mission had been sabotaged and most likely would have no idea until Shikamaru showed up at Tanaka's camp—in a few months.

"What should I do?" Hinata asked hesitantly.

"You?" her cousin asked, crossing his arms. "You're going to have to con Old Man Kenji into telling you _everything_ he knows." His eyebrows pulled down. "Even if you have to use force."

* * *

"Start flying at forty degrees now."

"Alright."

The chilly night wind flew through Shikamaru's hair and around his body, but he could have sworn it went straight through his bones. He gritted his teeth, trying to control the involuntary shivering of his body.

_Mind over matter, always._

Despite the mantra, Shikamaru fidgeted once more as the wings of the ink hawk rose smoothly. He crossed his legs, trying to minimize the amount of space he occupied on the small, inked creature. He suppressed a frown—_considering the hawk was __**drawn**__, couldn't it have been made just a little bigger?_

A fresh burst of the night wind came in from the east and goose bumps rose along his arms.

"I have an extra cloak, if you'd like," his partner said blandly.

"Sure," Shikamaru grunted. "We should reach Suna in a little more than an hour. When we meet the Kazekage, don't say anything stupid. Bow, greet him, and get the hell out."

Sai stared at him, usual blank façade in place. "I make you uncomfortable."

"More like you have a habit of insulting people by just opening your mouth," Shikamaru said bluntly.

"It isn't intentional."

"I'm not sure how you could possibly think you're complimenting people. Last time we were in Suna, you told Temari that her smile was more of an animalistic bearing of teeth than expression of joy."

It had been a surreal moment. Shikamaru distinctly remembered being horrified and amused as a heavy blush flooded Temari's cheeks and then expanded to the rest of her face and down her neck. Ino had let out a mortified guffaw while Choji looked around awkwardly before quickly ripping open an emergency stash of chips to distract from the tense situation. Kankuro's full-blown laughter had not helped matters, and had only ceased when Temari punched him square in the face.

"I see. Perhaps this is why she dislikes me."

"Not perhaps. Definitely one of the many reasons the Kazekage's sister doesn't like you."

A spasm flittered across Sai's face, disturbing his normally vacant expression.

Shikamaru sighed.

"The less people who know that you are accompanying me, the better," he explained. "I don't think the Kazekage has anything against you." _Yet._

"Understood."

"If it helps," Shikamaru said, remembering Kankuro's delighted face, "I think that the Kazekage's brother thinks highly of you."

"Thank you."

Silence reigned as the two shinobi sat uncomfortably on the ink jutsu, watching carefully for signs of danger—whether they were unfriendly shinobi or a bird flying too quickly in their direction.

"Shikamaru-san."

"What is it," he responded, pretending to observe the night clouds pass by.

"Why haven't you gotten a folder of information about the mission?"

"Why would I?" Shikamaru responded. "Tsunade-sama's not stupid. She wouldn't give mission scrolls for such a high-risk mission…not when it could so easily be traced back to Konoha." He eyed Sai curiously. "You know this better than I do, why are you asking me?"

"…I was ordered to give a mission folder to Hyuuga Hinata-san."

This immediately roused Shikamaru. "What? Who the hell told you to give it to her?"

"One of Hokage-sama's personal ANBU."

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. "You _have_ to get a message to her, _now_." His mouth formed into a hard line as he calculated the possibilities. "Someone may or may not be jeopardizing the mission," he concluded, "but someone _definitely _knows that Neji and Hinata are on their way to see Tanaka Ichiro."

_And that, in and of itself,_ Shikamaru left unsaid, watching Sai carefully, _is extremely suspicious_.

* * *

'**Leave me alone, you hideous frog," she snapped, taking her arm out of his gentle grasp.**

'**My dearest Tsunami,' the rogue ninja chuckled, using the pet name he knew she despised. 'I will never leave you, not in this lifetime, nor the next!'**

'**You say that too often for me to trust you, Jira,' the buxom blonde snorted, defensively crossing her arms, amplifying the swell of her generous bosom. Automatically Jira's eyes fell to where her toned arms met, watching the rise and fall of the sexy, moonlight-pale—**

Creeeeeeeeeeaaaaaak.

The deep groan, coming from the stairs, broke Kenji's concentration from the dramatic romance he'd been reading. (Kenji, already nearly eighty years old, reasoned that at his age, he was secure enough in his masculinity to admit he read such novels—although he'd quickly hidden the orange-covered book out of sight upon hearing the stairs croak.) A small woman descended slowly, swiping a hand across her pale cheeks. Kenji remembered her perfectly: she had, after all checked in only a few hours ago; the young woman who arrived with the poorly mannered brute.

"Miss?" he called to her, hoping to catch her attention. She lifted her dark head in surprise and Kenji could easily see her reddened eyes widen. "Is everything alright?" he asked in alarm.

"Y-yes," she said softly. He sent her an unimpressed look and, after a moment of silence, she laughed weakly. "I must be a poor liar," she said, sniffling.

"Perhaps a little," Kenji responded, getting out of his seat in concern. He winced as his damn knees cracked, but it seemed there were more important issues to be dealt with. "Are you alright?" he asked, touching her shoulder with fatherly concern. At this, her eyes seemed to well up with more tears and Kenji panicked. "There, there," he said uncomfortably, patting her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would be down here this late."

"I have the night shift, just in case we have late night guests." He paused, feeling her shoulders shake underneath his hand. "Would…you like some tea?" he asked kindly.

She looked up at him through her thick, wet eyelashes. "If…if you don't mind."

"Not at all."

As Kenji led her through the kitchen door, he couldn't help but wonder what had gotten her so upset. She looked like such a young thing, probably no older than eighteen, away from home and travelling with a man who so obviously wanted only one thing from her. He felt a fresh twinge of pity for her, the girl who reminded him so much of his own granddaughters…

"Please allow me to help you," she said quietly as he attempted to bustle about. At his age, it was difficult enough to just get out of a chair, forget about reaching to high places for tea he never drank.

"Alright. You know," he said, getting straight to it, "you remind me of my granddaughter."

"I hope that is a good thing."

"It is! Ami is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. You two look alike. Except her hair is red, and shorter, and she doesn't have bangs, and she has green eyes. Your noses are pretty different, too." He saw the girl smother a smile, though it did not occur to him that perhaps she'd thought it would be rude to laugh outright at his comparison of the girl who, in all reality, probably looked nothing like her.

"Thank you," was all she said. After a few moments of silence, she volunteered her own comparison. "You are quite…different…from my grandfather. Ami-san is lucky to have such a loving person in her life."

Feeling his sympathy surge with every moment spent with the unfortunate woman, Kenji placed a gnarled hand on her smoother ones. "I'm sure your grandfather loved you the best he could. It's really against the law to not love your grandchildren," he chuckled.

As her eyes iced over, Kenji realized it was clearly the wrong thing to say. "No. He encouraged my father's dislike for me in every way that he could, especially after my mother's death."

Suddenly Kenji felt extremely uncomfortable. "…I'm…sorry, miss."

"You may call me Hina," she said, glancing toward the door.

"I'm sorry, Hina."

"It was a long time ago," she smiled gently. "I've come to terms with it."

The kettle whistled.

* * *

Neji crouched low, hidden behind the kitchen door. Hinata's slightly muffled voice came through.

"I hope that is a good thing."

"It is!" the old man said enthusiastically. "Ami is the sweetest girl you will ever meet. You two look alike. Except her hair is red, and shorter, and she doesn't have bangs, and she has green eyes. Your noses are pretty different, too."

Neji rolled his eyes. _Senile fool. _

"Thank you." She said, and Neji would bet his life that she was endeared by the old man. Hinata was soft like that—always willing to trust in others until she got burned. She'd been like that even as a child, despite her almost cruel upbringing in the Hyuuga house.

Though it was her greatest fault, Neji was willing to admit, however grudgingly, that her large heart was also responsible for the familial reconcilement. Neither her father nor Neji himself deserved forgiveness for what they had unfairly put her through—but somehow, _somehow,_ Hinata managed it.

And though Neji would hardly admit it out loud, he would willingly lay down his life for hers—if that was what his atonement required of him.

The old man's voice broke through his thoughts.

"I'm sure your grandfather loved you the best he could. It's really against the law to not love your grandchildren."

Neji's knuckles whitened as he listened to Hinata's surprisingly honest response. It was one thing to know such malice existed at one point, but it was completely different hearing it acknowledged by Hinata. Barely restrained anger radiated off his being as he remembered their grandfather's malevolent words, and his own inaction—his own hateful enjoyment—as he'd watched his younger cousin shake pitifully.

Kenji shifted uncomfortably; the sound of the chair screeching against the hard floor brought Neji to his senses. He quickly suppressed his chakra, amazed by the murderous intent he'd been unintentionally transmitting. Even if Kenji hadn't known what it was, he had definitely felt Neji's killer intent…

"It was a long time ago. I've come to terms with it."

This, Neji knew, was more for his benefit than anything. He took a breath and calmed himself; if he wanted to survive to embark on another mission, there would be absolutely no more trips down memory lane.

"So," Kenji said. Neji could smell the tea as vapor wafted into the lobby. He heard the clinking of cheap china as the old man set down two cups. "Why don't you tell me why you were upset?"

There was silence.

"I understand it must be hard, telling this to a complete stranger. But it can be therapeutic, and you can rest assured knowing that I won't judge you, honey."

"…I…I have nightmares."

_Finally,_ Neji thought with some relief. _Hinata-sama is using the script._

Only a few minutes prior, it had been decided that while further research needed to be conducted outside the Inn, Neji absolutely needed to hear first-hand what Kenji had to say. Together, the two shinobi concocted a tragic life story for the orphan known as 'Hina.'

"Ok," Kenji said encouragingly. "What about?—oh no, Hina, don't cry."

"I'm sorry. They died a little while ago, and I still have nightmares about it."

As he listened to Hinata tell her sob story about the murder of her fictional family, Neji couldn't help but be impressed by her acting skills. What he was worried about, however, was what would happen when she was confronted without warning. If they somehow got close enough to Tanaka, and he became suspicious of Hinata, would she be able to handle it? What if his personal guards discovered suspicious activities coincided with their arrival—could Hinata blow them off?

"…I'll never forget those shinobi who robbed and killed my parents."

"Where were they from?" Kenji asked sympathetically.

"I don't know. But the insignias on their foreheads had something like an hourglass on it…"

"Suna," the old man growled.

Neji straightened. _Interesting. _

"It's got to be Suna. They are the only shinobi on the planet who would do such a terrible thing!"

"Why would you say that?"

"I'm surprised you haven't heard. They send children to a murder boot camp so they can become better shinobi. The weak don't survive and the strong become murderers. On top of that—"

Kenji rattled off a list of utter nonsense, complete and total propaganda spread by Tanaka Ichiro to gain support for his 'cause'.

"That is terrible," Hinata said seriously as Kenji struggled to catch his breath after his extensive tirade. "I had no idea."

"It's in all the local papers. They write about the atrocities going on there every day, with the names of the poor victims who die so that they're never forgotten."

"That is a very brave and honorable thing to do. At least someone is taking action against such tyranny."

Neji adjusted his position so that he could see into the kitchen. He watched as Kenji's chest puffed out with pride. "My son runs that paper. I will convey the message and let him know he has one more supporter!"

"Could I speak with him? This kind of thing needs more support!" Hinata said angrily. "My family needs to be avenged, and I want to help him as much as I can!"

"I don't think so. His location needs to stay secret; you have to understand," he said quickly, watching Hinata's face fall. "But if you want to help out, I know of a way."

"Which way is that?" she asked, disappointed. Neji knew exactly how she felt—though if needed, they would force it out of him by the end of the night. The son was the key to pinpointing Tanaka's location.

"You could join Tanaka Ichiro."

Neji froze.

* * *

Hinata froze. "What?"

"Tanaka Ichiro, the politician. His camp moves quickly, but I _know_ they treat their volunteers—who are usually refugees and victims well. He's going to change the world. You could leave your master and be happy."

The kunoichi resisted the urge to pounce on the offer. "I will have to think about it," she said thinly, heart beating wildly.

"Of course. I don't expect you to make such a huge decision in such a short amount of time!" He looked at the clock on the side wall. "Oh dearie. It's almost dawn! Time for me to go home, and time for you to get some rest."

Hinata felt Neji's chakra slowly diminish as he left the area. Helping the old man clean up the small mess, she said: "Thank you for the tea. It was kind of you to comfort me."

"Not at all," he said, shaking his head. "And if you pass River County on your way up, try to find The Dancing Dragons. My brother owns that place and will help you out if you decide to…you know."

She nodded and, shyly, embraced him, arms wrapping around his neck. "Thank you."

He returned the hug enthusiastically. "It was truly my honor to be able to provide you any assistance."

His sincerity was obvious, and Hinata felt a rush of affection for the caring grandfather figure. He was someone's grandfather, Hinata realized belatedly. He was someone's father, and a husband to another person. Kenji was no shinobi; if somehow Tanaka's people discovered old man Kenji was the reason Konoha shinobi were in his camp, no doubt Kenji would suffer the consequences.

Hinata refused to be the cause of his demise.

Looking around to ensure that there would be absolutely no hints of her existence in the kitchen—it would not do for Kenji to question why there were two cups of tea while he sat alone, in the kitchen—Hinata activated her byakugan. The usual flare of black, white, and blue encompassed her vision and Kenji's chakra pathway system became visible. Remaining in his embrace, she raised her arms behind his neck and formed tiny, sharp chakra needles. She poised her palms above his bald head.

"You have no idea how much you have helped, Kenji-san. I wish you the best of luck in life," she said genuinely.

Without waiting for a response, she brought her hands forward and allowed the chakra shards to seep into the frontal lobe of his brain. Kenji's confused eyes became blank and quickly Hinata stepped away from the innkeeper. She rushed up the stairs before the disoriented man could ask her any questions.

"Excellent work, Hinata-sama."

"Thank you," she responded somewhat guiltily.

"What's wrong?"

"I erased his memory," she blurted.

Neji crossed his arms, disapproval written on his face. "Why would you—

"I didn't want him involved."

The ANBU captain stared at her, surprised by the firmness in her voice. "All right," he said after a small silence. "Do not repeat this action again without consulting me first. We could have needed him for something else."

Hinata frowned at the order but agreed.

"Sleep. We leave for River County in the morning."

"Alright," Hinata nodded, heading for the straw mattress laid neatly on the floor.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep…?"

"That is not your bed."

"Neji-san, I am perfectly fine with sleeping down here…"

"No. I never intended for you to sleep on the floor. Take the bed," he said with the finality only an ANBU captain could command. "I will take the floor when I return."

"Where are you going?"

"I have a little more investigating to do."

"For what?"

"I need to make sure the old man's story checks out. I also need to see if there are any other supporters in the area."

"Are you sure you don't want me to—to—to come?" she yawned, and then smiled sheepishly as he sent her a pointed look.

"I'll manage."

Sliding under the covers, Hinata laid her head on the flat pillows. She watched Neji slide shuriken into small pockets in his pants, and kunai into slim pockets of his heavy shirt. He inserted a slender knife into a slit in the heel of his shoe and repeated the process for the other.

Feeling her gaze on him, Neji turned to the woman in the bed.

"Good night," she said. "And please be careful."

"Where is your kunai?" he asked, ignoring the send-off.

"I have it, right here."

Neji fished for something in his weapons bag. Reaching inside carefully, he pulled out a green-tagged kunai. "Use this instead. Use it only when you need to; I will know if you've used it and will come as quickly as I can."

Hinata nodded, lids closing slowly.

Neji flicked the switch by the door, and the room was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

"You're here early, Tsunade-sama." Shizune paused. "Or should I say, you're here late?"

"Both, I suppose," the Hokage replied wryly.

"What happened?"

Wordlessly, Tsunade handed her apprentice a small papyrus scroll, inked with precise characters and ink blots smudging the side, carelessly spilt with haste.

**'_YOUR ANBU HAS BEEN INFILTRATED._ _INTERFERENCE _**

**_WITH MISSION; SUSPICIOUS SCROLLS GIVEN TO CASE #568921.'_**

"I got it last night. From Sai and Shikamaru."

Shizune let out a dismayed curse. "Things are only getting worse and worse."

"Indeed."

"What should we do?"

"What can we do?" Tsunade countered. "I will do my duties to the best of my ability. Until Danzou slips up and we are somehow there to catch it, I can't legally do anything to imprison him."

"You should at least change your bodyguards!"

"'Keep your enemies closer,' Shizune," Tsunade reminded her. "Don't worry about me."

"And why the hell not?" the younger woman exclaimed.

"I know what I'm doing," she replied vaguely. "Don't you have work to do?"

"…Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune said resentfully, gathering several folders and storming out of the room.

The Hokage spoke to the air. "I would say that girl worries too much, but I think in this case, she isn't overreacting…what do you think, Kakashi?"

Materializing from thin air, the ANBU crossed his muscular arms. "There's something odd going on."

"Like what, exactly?"

"ROOT has been acting somewhat erratically. They're _too_ silent. Before you comment," he interrupted as she opened her mouth, "I know it's not much to go on—but even for ROOT, they've been a little too quiet. Something's up with them."

Tsunade turned around, arms crossed behind her back. Through the glass, she could see the village bustling with activity—activity granted only because the Hokage allowed it. How much would change if Danzou succeeded in overthrowing her? She had seen her people through one massacre, not to mention The Fourth Great Shinobi War. They had, in addition, dealt with the invasion that had led to her ascension to Hokagedom; could they handle another era of such turmoil?

Tsunade knew very well the effect stability had on a village. It would prosper; flourish like never before. When the stability was shaken, trouble inevitably followed—only when a true leader rose could that stability be restored. Tsunade knew, without a doubt, Danzou would not be the one to unite the people.

_Never, ever, Danzou…but…_

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi ventured.

"How long do you think it will take for you to find out what's going on?" she asked briskly, turning to look at him.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "Anywhere from a week to a year, I suppose. If that helps."

"We don't have a year, Hatake. To my knowledge, Danzou is planning on making his move in eight to nine months."

"Understood."

"Don't let me down."

He nodded. Despite his relaxed stance, Tsunade could tell by his stiff neck and rigid arms that he was anything but. Satisfied that he was taking the mission seriously, she allowed him to begin the Transportation Jutsu.

"Before you do whatever you're planning on doing," she said quickly, "bring me Naruto."

_Never, ever, Danzou…but…_

_Naruto is ready to begin training._

"Understood."

* * *

…

Yikes.

It's been a while, hasn't it? Hopefully the chapter was worth…the…wait? No? Ahhhhh I'm sorry! Hopefully I haven't lost too many readers along the way…give me a shout out and let me know you're all still kicking! I've missed the fanfiction world a lot :'(

Not much to tell you (life, school, etc) except that I went to New York Comic-Con! It was a little overwhelming but still pretty awesome. I got pictures with Matsumoto, Rukia, and Aizen from BLEACH and a picture with a very pretty Tsunade-sama. I want to dress up next time! …Maybe. I'm still a little shy, but let me know if you were there, and especially if you were cosplaying! Maybe we saw each other…though not likely, because the Javits center is sooo big :D You know what, why don't you just tell me if you've ever cosplayed anyway. I would love to hear your stories ^_^

Speaking of cosplaying, I found this really amazing cosplaying team called the Tuxedo Team. I know this is probably old, old news for a lot of you, but the rest of you who haven't seen their stuff should really check it out. I am always **so **amazed by their cosplays—especially Jin, who is hands down the best Kenshin I have ever seen (Rurouni Kenshin is my most favorite manga ever!). She also does a mean Kurosaki Ichigo.

Anyway, hope to hear from you! Review and make my day better ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

Again, sorry for the delay to everyone who was waiting for this. Notes are at the bottom.

A big thanks to **Celia** for beta-ing.

* * *

_"I can't protect you without holding a sword. I can't embrace you while holding a sword."_

_-Kubo Tite_

* * *

**A Mirror for the Sun**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Five hundred kilometers to the east, the sun was just rising. Despite this early time, the citizens of Suna were bustling about, setting up shops and hurrying to get to their respective destinations.

"Wake up, Shikamaru."

He grunted.

"Don't make me repeat myself, lazy-ass. Your audience with the Kazekage is in a half hour."

Only one woman in the world had a voice that deep and that abrasive.

"I could've been naked, for all you know, Temari," he grumbled, turning over.

"You should be glad you weren't, for both of our sakes…"

He blearily opened an eye. "What time is it?"

"Quarter to."

"Quarter to what?"

"Six, obviously! You Konoha shinobi get up so goddamn late, waste the whole day away. Anyway, get up, he's expecting you soon."

"What? Why so early? It's never been like this before," he groaned, alluding to his past trips to Suna.

"Hmm." He could almost hear her cross her arms. "So, let me stand here and explain to you how the village has changed since you were last here. Once upon a time, there was a politician who was the slimiest and most manipulative of all politicians. He threatened—

"Ok, ok," Shikamaru said, waking up. He rolled over and placed his feet on the warm marble. "Damn, it's hot."

She shrugged. "You'll get used to it."

"I never do."

"Whatever, just be at Gaara's office in thirty minutes, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Temari quickly retreated, leaving the bedroom door wide open. Shikamaru groaned once more. "I'm assuming you're up," he called to Sai, whose quarters were in the adjacent room of the suite.

His partner entered the room, fully dressed. "Yes."

"Why are people always coming in without knocking? I could have been naked," he repeated.

Sai shrugged. "I'm an artist so I see nudes frequently. Your body is above average, I can assure you. It's actually very nice."

Shikamaru looked at him oddly.

A smile plastered itself on Sai's pale face. "I realize I have made you feel sufficiently awkward. I believe the courtesy would be for me to exit the room." He paused. "Am I right?"

"Yeah…"

Sai's eyes crinkled. "Then I will see you at the Kazekage's dinner this evening."

"…Yeah…"

Sai left the room slowly, adding to the bleak awkwardness of the situation. Shikamaru watched as one foot followed the other, the seconds trailing like minutes before the paler shinobi suddenly stopped.

"Do you know where I can get breakfast?"

"Just get out of here!"

With a laugh that almost seemed genuine, Sai finally left the suite.

Grumpily getting up, Shikamaru opened a bag of clothes and slipped them on, not bothering to shower—what, he wondered, was the point when it was already nearly eighty degrees at six in the morning? By the time he would arrive at the Kazekage's office the temperature would rise further…

He bent down, touching his palms to the ground. The bones in his spine cracked softly in protest—a night of riding on a giant, inked bird would do that—and then he shot up, pushing his muscles out of their restful stagnancy.

As he bent down once more, he considered the events that had occurred the night before; it was highly suspicious that Sai had delivered information to Neji and Hinata. Whether Sai had doubted the scroll's containing information was something that Shikamaru was unconcerned with; the more pressing matter had been that someone had enough authority over Sai to not only interfere with a top ranked mission, but to infiltrate Tsunade's ANBU and obtain Sai's trust.

_What a mess._

With a sigh, Shikamaru slipped on his sandals and headed out the door. He opened his window and stepped onto the warm balcony. Easily back flipping onto the roof, the genius then made his way over to the Kazekage's office.

"I'm here to see Gaara-sama," he told the guard outside the large doors.

"He's in a meeting right now. What's your name?"

"Nara Shikamaru."

"Oh, he's been expecting you," the guard said, recognizing the name. "But you're just going to have to wait 'til Ebizō-jiisama comes out."

Shikamaru nodded and sat on the stone bench attached to the wall directly ahead of him. Glancing at the clock on the wall—which read six-twenty—he shut his eyes, leaned his head back, and folded his arms, fully intent on dozing until the Kazekage came out of the meeting.

Unfortunately, his rest lasted little more than five minutes before he felt a shadow shield him from the outside morning light.

"You're on time," came a deep feminine voice above him.

"Why is that surprising?" he asked, eyes opening to look up at her.

Temari shrugged, pushing back an unruly strand of sandy blonde hair. "Just seems like you get lazier every time you come here."

"And it seems like you're trying to be more womanly every time," he retorted, watching her painted nails flitter about her face.

Temari froze. "You better shut the fuck up."

"Nothing wrong with that," he said defensively, smirking slightly at her anger. "It's an improvement over the last time I saw you, for sure…thank the Lord you gave up on perfume, last time I was here I smelled it before I saw Suna…"

The kunoichi flushed, fingers itching for her fan.

"At first I thought it was body odor, I have to admit."

"I told you to shut it," she snarled. "Girls do stupid things sometimes, alright?"

"Indeed," Shikamaru agreed wholeheartedly, thinking of Ino and her ever changing fads. He felt a pang of nostalgia hit him before shaking it forcibly.

Temari sighed and threw herself onto the hard bench. "Well, good to see you anyway, idiot," she said, punching his arm.

Shikamaru turned his head to look at her. "It's been a while. Haven't seen you since the war…"

"Things have been busy here," she explained. "We had to rebuild, too, you know. No time for friendly visits. Plus now, we have to deal with all this nonsense created by Tanaka Ichiro. Things have been rough."

Shikamaru straightened out of his slouch and looked at her seriously. "I can't tell you if things will get worse or better, but I can tell you that Konoha is one-hundred percent on Suna's side."

Temari stared at him, taken aback by the man's sincerity. She opened her mouth but the guard who'd been standing at the door interrupted.

"Excuse me, Nara-san. Temari-sama. The Kazekage is waiting for you."

Temari immediately stood up.

"Let's go."

* * *

Something reeked.

The sharp odor of cheap alcohol wafted through Hinata's sensitive nose, and, despite subconsciously recognizing the chakra belonging to the invader, she immediately awoke in a state of panic. In one dexterous movement she grabbed the kunai from underneath her pillow and sat up, retaining a defensive pose.

"Calm yourself."

Seeing the familiar chakra smoothly flow from node to node, Hinata released the byakugan she hadn't realized activated in her fright.

"Neji," she breathed, relieved.

"Your reflexes are quicker than I thought," he responded stoically.

Hinata felt her face warm slowly as she watched Neji shrug off his shirt. The hard muscles in his back flex with movement and she averted her eyes.

"I smelled you," she explained, staring the bleak white wall.

As the words left her mouth, the air in the room seemed to still.

"What do you mean?" asked Neji, body tense.

"Nothing," quietly said Hinata. "You…you just have a distinct smell."

What she said was true; when Neji didn't reek of blood or vodka, he mildly smelled like the Konoha forests. It was quite nice, though she would never dare to admit it aloud. However, when he did consume alcohol, not only did his scent change, but his chakra and entire demeanor changed as well. Had Neji returned without drinking, Hinata would have slept through his re-entrance like a newborn.

He turned around to look at her. "And this…smell…of mine made you panic enough to wake you up," he stated flatly, clearly not believing a word she said.

"Kiba-kun helped me hone my olfactory senses," Hinata said defensively. "I sensed another presence and immediately reacted to it."

Hinata was quickly mastering half-truths.

Neji shrugged and gracefully made his way underneath his own covers silently. Hinata maintained her own tense position in her bed until the birds outside her window began to chirp. Slowly, as the minutes passed, she began to ease into the warm bed once more, allowing sleep to take over.

_One crisis averted._

"Congratulations, Hinata-sama," Neji said quietly. "You've finally learned how to lie."

…_Maybe not._

* * *

_Soft lips caress his ear. "My love."_

"_Hmm?" the young man asks distantly, engrossed in the thick book in his hands._

"_Danzou!" she tuts, snatching the musty-smelling book out of his reach. She walks around the couch and stands in front of him, hands placed on her hips._

"_What is it, Tsuki!"_

_His wife pouts. "Don't you want to talk to your pretty wife anymore? I've been trying to talk to you for a half hour now!"_

"_Not really," Danzou sighs. At the anger quickly building in her black eyes, he laughs and reaches for her. She willingly falls against him and comfortably nestles herself in his muscular arms. _

"_You're a jerk."_

"_And somehow you married me." He strokes her pale hands. "So tell me—what do you want to talk about?"_

"_I don't know, a little bit of this, a little bit of that…"_

_He looks at her in disbelief. "I was reading something important, you know."_

"_Fine, be like that," she frowns, making a move to leave the security of his arms._

"_Come on, Tsuki," he groans. "Obviously you wanted to talk about something…"_

_His wife—his fiery, fearless wife—stills in his arms and hesitates. Immediately Danzou becomes alarmed._

"_What is it?" he demands. _

_And when she puts their joined hands on her stomach and smiles softly, Danzou's heart falters._

"Wake up, old man."

"I've been awake since your snake-breath entered this room."

"Whatever."

"You sound unhappy."

"I've been reduced to a mere soldier," the ANBU said lightly. "You can hardly blame me."

"Reduced, huh? Seems like you remember more than you let on."

The masked man ran a hand through his dirty hair. "Considering you're the man who personally snuck me out, and considering the Hokage herself thought I was a threat, I can deduce that this is a reduction from the happy freedom I know I had before."

"If you're unhappy, I can escort you back to your solitary cage…"

"What a horridly unpleasant man you are. Once my memories are recovered, I will love to rip you apart, piece by piece."

Danzou's pale yellow teeth gleamed in the dim light. "If you can."

"If I can," he agreed mildly.

"So what do you have to tell me?"

"The information folder has been given to Hyuuga Hinata. Sai delivered it without question."

"He was always a good soldier," Danzou remarked with something akin to fondness. "You put all the correct information in there, no?"

"Of course. I have to admit that I am surprised that you are feeding the Hyuuga kids with accurate information."

"My little Hyuuga princess is the best assassin I have. I want him back in the same shape he left. If Tanaka dies along the way—which I'm assuming is the reason they're going to pay him a visit—it's nothing I haven't expected, and nothing I wouldn't have done myself once I become Hokage. Neji-chan is actually following orders before they've been given, bless his little heart."

The masked man scoffed. "You must think I'm an idiot. Saving one assassin is hardly a reason for you to help stop the man who will help your rise to power."

He was right, of course, but there was very little else that Danzou was willing to share with him—especially considering which Hyuuga he was truly interested in. He wasn't lying about protecting his precious assassin, nor was he lying about minding getting rid of Tanaka—the wheels had already been set in motion.

Danzou would become Hokage regardless of what happened to Tanaka; he'd made sure of it.

The ROOT commander shrugged. "Believe what you will. Whatever I do is in the interest of the village."

"Interesting how you think assassinating the Hokage is in your village's best interest…"

"Moron. Just go back to Tsunade. I have work to do."

With a few hand signals, the man transformed. He became taller, tanner, and bulkier.

"Report back in twelve hours."

"As you like," shrugged the ANBU. He concealed his chakra and, making the signs for rooster, pig, ox, and dragon, disappeared.

* * *

It wasn't the first time she'd seen him asleep, but it felt just like it.

Hinata gladly took the opportunity to take a good look at her cousin—something she hadn't been able to do since he'd gotten a fever all those years ago, and since she'd been the only person with any sort of medical training in the house, she had automatically been volunteered to take care of him.

_Hyuuga Neji, the clan genius and her father's favorite…_

Neji's face was bereft of its usual hardness. Hinata would hardly say it was peaceful, but she wouldn't say it was troubled either; there was simply a lack of expression on his face. His chiseled jaw was hard, his lips pulled down. Her wide eyes scrolled down his well-defined chest before resting on his pale hands, which loosely held a kunai, marked with the same strange symbols as the kunai he'd given her the night before.

She sighed softly as she glanced at the clock. Hinata hated to have to wake him, after he'd only come in a few hours ago—but their plans were definite and it would be risky to abandon them.

Her feet landed on the ground with a soft 'thud'. Still, Neji did not stir.

"Neji-san," she whispered.

His deep breathing remained unchanged.

"Neji-san," she called, voice slightly louder.

His response was to grab the kunai more tightly. Hinata frowned—if Neji had not been intoxicated hours before, he would have woken up the minute she'd called his name. The matter was certainly troubling; when they were at his apartment, she could overlook his addiction and address it when appropriate. However, on the uncertainty of missions, she had no way of confronting him—gently—without severely angering him.

Considering the danger of their mission, inciting Neji's explosive anger was a risk Hinata was wholly unwilling to take.

With a deep exhale, she adjusted the thin nightwear the Inn had lent her and pulled the paper-like yukata down. Shivering as she left her warm bed, Hinata knelt on the ground next to him and quickly put a hand out to his bare shoulder. The shock of her cold fingers against his hot skin instantly awoke him. His red-rimmed eyes flew open and she gasped in surprise.

Though Hinata had been prepared for a somewhat jerky response—a typical response of shinobi who could identify friend from foe, even while unconscious—nothing could have prepared her for Neji's reaction.

Before she knew it, she was thrown roughly against the hard ground, hands and legs pinned to the floor by his. White stars swirled in front of her eyes as she attempted to grasp the situation. With a desperate, shuddering breath, she looked at the man hovering above her.

Even without Neji glaring down at her, holding a kunai dangerously close to her carotid artery, she would have stayed still under the menacing command in his eyes.

He blinked. "Hinata-sama," he said, voice hoarse with sleep and confusion.

"I'm sorry," she wheezed. "I should—have—known—better."

Clarity replaced the confusion in his white eyes. "_What were you doing?_" he demanded, withdrawing the kunai from her throat and stabbing it viciously into the floor.

"I tried waking you up," she explained, dizziness now fading, "at least three times. But you wouldn't, so I shook your shoulder."

Cold air replaced his body as he quickly got to his feet.

Hinata sat up slowly, gingerly feeling the throbbing area at the back of her head. She winced slightly as her fingers found a particularly tender spot.

"Is there blood?" Neji asked, roughly rubbing his face.

"No…"

He emitted a harsh bark of laughter. "What luck."

Hinata bit her lip, heart pounding furiously as she watched her cousin from across the small room. "I'm sorry," she said in a small voice, hoping it would soothe Neji's anger.

Instead, the two words seemed to fuel his rage. "_You're sorry?_" he repeated incredulously. "I told you that you use those words too much, didn't I?" he snarled.

Terrified, she whispered an affirmative.

"Great," he muttered, watching his cousin shake with every word he uttered. "Just fucking great." Without another word, he left the small room with three fast steps and slammed the door shut.

Hinata's mind reeled.

_What…just happened?_

* * *

The walk out of the small village had been tense and uncomfortable.

After Neji had left the room, Hinata had stumbled back to the bed and sat on it in a dazed state until the sun had risen high. Abruptly realizing how much time had passed—and how much time they'd wasted—she then quickly packed both of their bags and headed downstairs, to the lobby, where she assumed Neji would be. Seconds passed and quickly turned into minutes—still, Hinata did not move from her spot on the old sofa in the lobby despite her desire to leave the old inn.

Two hours later, her cousin had found a restless Hinata on the patched, mildewed couch. With awkward, jerky eye contact as their only interaction, they silently left the tavern.

Hinata stepped quietly into the forest, trying to make the least possible amount of sound as she trod on broken tree branches and crunchy leaves, while simultaneously trying to juggle their luggage.

She looked up to the sky, wiping sweat off her forehead. By the position of the sun, it was about three in the afternoon.

Though they'd been walking for little less than six hours, it felt like they'd been walking for twice as long—Hinata chalked it up to the incredible temperature, which had risen to double the temperature of the morning. She could nearly feel her chakra evaporate out of her body with the heat of the sun.

Ahead of her, Neji walked perfectly straight. Though she could see sweat bead along the nape of his neck, he seemed otherwise unaffected by the heat.

Hinata nearly glared at his unfair composure.

Sweat dripped in gallons down her jaw, down her throat.

"I can take that from you now."

Hinata nearly jumped at the sound of his voice—he hadn't spoken a word to her since the incident. "I-It's alright. They aren't that heavy."

"Just give me the bags, Hinata-sama," Neji said, irritated.

_Some composure_.

The kunoichi bristled at his tone but complied with the Mission Captain's instructions. She unattached the latch keeping both bags on her shoulders and let his larger bag fall into her hands. Swiftly, she threw the bag containing his belonging to her cousin.

He caught it with little effort.

"Give me the other."

"Our family is not here, Neji-san. I can carry this one," she protested sharply.

She wasn't weak—Hinata was proud to be a kunoichi, and the thought that Neji considered her strength to be so minimal that she couldn't carry a ten kilo bag was insulting. If the situation had been different, and he, as a Branch Member had asked the Hyuuga Heiress to carry her bags, she would gladly give them to him—to do otherwise would shame him in front of their elders. Though Hinata cringed at the thought of Neji lowering himself to her, she knew he would never forgive her if she dishonored him in such a way, no matter how he treated her.

Neji finally nodded to her and proceeded to continue in the same direction.

Hinata stared after him, distraught at his continual anger.

It truly was an odd feeling she was experiencing; a mix of regret for invading his personal space while he was at his weakest; anger at Neji for getting in his predicament; subsequent self-loathing for her anger at her troubled cousin—and for her inability to be there when he needed someone most—not to mention the feeling of anxiety for what was to come...

Hinata sighed.

On her missions with Team 8, the three friends rarely fought with each other. Even when they'd had differences of opinion, it never affected their teamwork, and never brought Hinata the aching need for tranquility. With Neji _everything_ was different—his mood changed with every breath, and Hinata had a tiny suspicion that much of his irritability would be attributed to her.

Before she knew it, she opened her mouth. "I'm sorry."

Nearly thirty feet ahead of her, Neji stopped walking and turned to face her. His eyes narrowed.

"I've told you several times you use those words too liberally."

"But this morning..."

Neji's mouth straightened into a thin line. "What occurred this morning," he interrupted, lifting a palm to stop her, "was my fault." He sighed tightly and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Hinata-sama, I have behaved appallingly and you have been nothing but gracious."

The kunoichi was silent.

"My behavior this morning was unacceptable," he said stiffly. "It will not happen again. That is my word."

Shell shocked, Hinata stared at her cousin. "Neji-san…"

"We need to get going if we're going to catch the ferry in time."

"What?" she asked, distracted.

"By my calculations, it would save us about a day and a half of walking. If we can get to the port by tonight, we'll be there in three days."

"A-Alright..."

"Let's go."

"Neji-san," she said quickly. Her cousin turned, expression expectant.

"I…I want you to know…I trust you."

An odd expression appeared on Neji's face before he wiped it clean. With a nod, he began walking, Hinata in tow.

* * *

"Welcome back to Suna, Nara Shikamaru."

"Thank you, Kazekage-sama."

"You'll have to excuse our temporary appearance. We're still rebuilding."

"I didn't even notice."

Gaara smiled wryly, one corner of his mouth tilting up. "You're either lying or incredibly oblivious. Since rumor has it that your IQ is around two-ten, I'm sure it's the former."

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head. "You have me there," he admitted sheepishly.

"Can we just get down to business?" Temari interrupted. "We've been waiting for this meeting for a while, let's just get to talking!"

Gaara shot her a look. "Yes, I suppose we should start the meeting, though I wish we could have done it with more tact."

Temari flushed.

"Please forgive my sister, Nara," Gaara said, playing the diplomat well. "We have been under much stress lately, as I'm sure you know."

"I often have to deal with Naruto," he said simply, shrugging.

"It's a shame he could not be here."

"Sure. You aren't the one who ends up paying for his mistakes, though."

Gaara snorted.

"Anyway," Shikamaru continued. "Shall we?"

Gaara nodded and motioned for Shikamaru to sit on the cushion to his left.

"Our main problem right now is that we're still weakened from the war," the Kazekage explained, getting straight to the heart of the matter. "The rate of rebuilding is not an issue—we could have hired Konoha years ago if we were really bothered by the rate at which we're rebuilding. We have very little amount of active shinobi—so many died in the war—even those who are on the roster are either getting old or are incompetent. We've been trying to train the younger ones because, despite the genin ineptitude, some have talent, but now on top of everything we have to focus on our friend Tanaka Ichiro."

"I have been sent by Godaime Hokage-sama to inform you that we are currently investigating Tanaka Ichiro, and we hope to have the matter taken care of by the end of the season."

Gaara's eyes widened as he easily deciphered the meaning behind Shikamaru's guarded words. "Is that so?" he asked, crossing him arms. "May I ask why?"

"We believe he is involved in illegal trading and in a plot to overthrow Konoha once his attempt here is done."

"And what do you want of Suna? I can spare very little manpower right now…"

"Not much—I'd like your permission to investigate your own citizens, to see how the people feel and make sure they are uninterested in Tanaka. Sound citizens went to him willingly…I need to make sure there is little chance that they are influenced in the same way. We also ask that you host him here in six months' time."

"What?" hissed the kage. "Why would we ever—

"You would look like the sensible ones, the ones looking for a peaceful alternative! If we can contain him here for a little amount of time, and bring him away from his supporters, we're hoping that they will eventually understand the person he really is. We can also protect our shinobi and they can complete their mission here."

"If you kill him on Suna soil, there is no way his supporters will ever rest in their crusade against us. I will not allow it."

"Kill?" Shikamaru asked, smirking. "Who said anything about killing him?"

"…I'm listening."

* * *

"I don't think Hana-obaa-san would have let you leave the house with giving you food first."

Neji smirked. "Hana-san let me do whatever I wanted, including eating cookies before mealtimes."

"Had I known fifteen years earlier, I would have been jealous."

"There is still time to be jealous—Hana-san still sends me food every so often."

The Hyuuga duo walked eastward, talking more amiably with each other in the last few hours than they'd spoken with each other in their entire lifetimes—until a small fleet of anchored ships caught their attention.

"We're here," Hinata said, surprise coloring her voice. "I didn't realize we were so close."

"Yes," Neji said distractedly, looking curiously at a fairly large crowd gathered around the leftmost ship. "That's our ship, I believe," he frowned. "I wonder what's happening."

Together, the two walked toward the wooden stand in the middle of the port. Cheers burst from the crowd and Hinata smiled.

"Looks like they're having fun."

"Hmm."

"Can I help you?" the man at the booth asked.

"I'd like two tickets for Ship 486."

"River County?"

"Yes."

As Neji paid the man, Hinata looked closely at the crowd. They all seemed to be middle-aged sailors, listening intently to the tall figure in the center, who was shouting about unfair taxes and nonsensical rules.

"What's going on over there?" Hinata asked the ticket vendor.

"Some big-named politician came to visit this weekend. That's his send-off."

"Who is it?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Come on, Shinji, don't be ignorant," chastised his friend sitting in the chair next to the booth.

"I'm not ignorant. I just don't care—there's a big difference. Politicians fuck things up. That's just the nature of politics. You know the Land of Chocolate hasn't had a government in over three years, and they've managed just fine."

"I've heard this argument about seventy times over the last week," the old man explained to the shinobi with a roll of his eyes.

"So who is that, then?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Why, Tanaka Ichiro, of course."

Hinata choked on the air.

"Excuse me?" Neji said sharply.

"Tanaka Ichiro, you know, the politician? He's such an inspirational guy…he totally turned the Land of Sound around."

"Ah," Neji agreed, immediately infusing a certain amount of admiration in his voice. "I have heard of him. Is he going to River County by any chance?"

"Yup…why?"

Neji smiled warmly. "I have some business to take care of with him."

Hinata shuddered slightly.

_And so it begins._

* * *

End Chapter 8.

* * *

Hope you guys liked it. I meant to have this up by January buuut life got in the way. You know how it is.

I've also been trying to spend less time with my computer. I hate how dependent I am on it, and I hate how I check my facebook and email multiple times a day. This is a huge reason for the delay as well. I'm trying to spend more time doing other things I enjoy, like photography...if you want the link to where I post my pictures, just message me or let me know in a review. I'm not 100% comfortable putting it in the chapter itself right now, but that's an explanation for another time.

Another reason for the delay is that-honestly-I'm losing interest in Naruto! I know, terrible T_T. I've been really really into Bleach lately...my interest in the plot itself comes and goes, but there is just something that really touches me about the relationship between Ichigo and Rukia. I love their dynamic so I've totally been lurking in online Bleach communities.

Anyway, that's all I have to say this time. Thanks for taking the time to read, and if you have some time to spare please leave me a review! I absolutely love reading them.

Till next time!


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